Before you begin your
Bible study, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sure you have named
your sins privately to God the Father.
If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins] (1Jn
1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with
God, Filled with God the Holy Spirit and ready to learn Truth from the Word of
God.
God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit
and Truth.
(Joh 4:24)
DIVINE
ESTABLISHMENT
THE
PLAN OF GOD
Even before the creation of man, the Principle of establishment was
ordained by God for the perpetuation of the human race. (Psa 148:6) In His
omniscience, God has always known the course of history as well as every
problem that we would ever face as individuals. Therefore, in eternity
past, God the Father sovereignly set up the Plan of Grace for mankind. Based on
His absolute righteousness and perfect justice, His design for Divine
establishment is flawless. The Plan continues throughout eternity because God
Himself is eternal life. And since it proceeds from His enduring,
uncompromising justice, Operation Grace excludes the frailties of human
sentimentality.
Furthermore, the stability of God’s Plan
is guaranteed by His immutability, while His veracity, expressed in the Written
Word of God, reveals to us the Thinking of His Plan. Because He is omnipotent, God has
the power to accomplish His grace objectives even in the devil’s world; and
because He is omnipresent and therefore not limited
by time or space, He maintains continual, on-the-scene Command over human
events. God controls history in three ways: direct control, by means of
Divine intervention; indirect control, through man’s adherence to the Laws of
Divine establishment; (Our subject) and permissive control, by allowing the
angelic conflict to run its course according to the dictates of man’s volition.
Although God may intervene in human events, He never
forces the faith of His creatures. Thus, He allows each individual to
make his own decision concerning Jesus Christ, although it is His sovereign
desire that all believe in Christ and receive eternal Salvation. (1Ti 2:4)
Those who do believe, enter the threefold Plan of God: Phase One —
Salvation, or saving grace; Phase Two — the Christian way of life, which ranges
from logistical grace to Spiritual self-esteem to Spiritual autonomy to
Spiritual maturity and then dying grace; Phase Three — eternity, with its
surpassing grace blessings and rewards for the believer who has broken the Spiritual
maturity barrier. (30, 60 and 100; Mat 13:8)
The Divine structure is unique in that it remains perfect despite the
inclusion of imperfect man. Man cannot hinder Operation Grace, since its
execution depends entirely upon the work of the Trinity in each phase of the
Plan. In Phase One, Jesus Christ accomplished
Salvation by His vicarious, efficacious Spiritual death and judgment on the
Cross; (Rom 5:6-8) God the Holy Spirit enables believers to learn Truth and to
reach Spiritual maturity during Phase Two; (Joh 16:13-14) and God
the Father fulfills Phase Three. (2Co 5:1)
Man makes no meritorious contribution of any kind, and thus he cannot destroy
the perfect quality of God’s Grace Plan.
Within the framework of the Plan of God, the Principle of human freedom
is essential for the function of Divine establishment. As
the cornerstone of freedom, human volition is the decision-maker of the soul.
Man was created with free will, and God made it unmistakably clear to Adam that
He had given him freedom of choice. This would always be the primary issue in
the angelic conflict: would man, inferior to angels but equipped with the same
free will, choose for or against the Divine design? Since volition must be
tested in order to be operative, God set up one prohibition.
The LORD God Commanded the man, saying,
From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from
it you will surely die. [Spiritual death] (Gen 2:16-17)
God was saying to man, “In Operation Grace, everything is provided for
your blessing, including your human freedom. You may exercise your free will in
any direction you wish; but the day you go on negative signals and eat of that forbidden tree, (Disobedience) you will be outside My
Plan!” To be cut off from the Divine Plan is to be
Spiritually dead, and this eventually results in physical death. It was
up to Adam’s volition whether or not he would continue under God’s authority.
Of his own choice, man walked out on the Plan of God!
Who was behind the revolt against God’s policy? None other than His
archenemy, Satan! This evil super-creature used the serpent to lure the woman
into rebellion against God’s perfect provision, and the angelic conflict began
to gather momentum on the earth. The woman then
influenced Adam to disobey; and in his Fall man lost the rulership of the earth
to Satan. However, God had not only foreseen
man’s failure but ALWAYS had the way to rescue the human race and thereby resolve
the angelic conflict; and bring many sons to His family! (Heb 2:9-11) He offered man a new “tree” — the
Cross. Now the only way for man to enter the Plan of God is to exercise
positive volition toward the saving work of Christ on the Cross: “Believe in the
Lord Jesus, and you will be saved...” (Act
16:31) Why do we simply believe? There is
nothing we can add to the finished work of Christ. Faith is non-meritorious.
All the merit is in the Object of that faith. Thus, even the simple mechanics
of Salvation are consistent with the Principle of grace. (Eph 2:8-9)
For all who are positive toward His Plan in Phase Two, the Divine
Blueprint encompasses many impressive provisions and blessings. (Eph 3:20) However, God
has also designed certain blessings for unbelievers as well as believers who
obey and appropriate His grace provisions found in the Laws of Divine
establishment.
DEFINITION
OF THE LAWS OF DIVINE ESTABLISHMENT
The Laws of Divine establishment are Principles
ordained by God for the protection, orderly function, survival and blessing of
the human race. In His omniscience, God knew in advance that man would
sin; He was also fully cognizant that once man acquired an old sin nature, he
would have unlimited potential to destroy himself! Therefore,
in order to perpetuate man’s existence during the course of the angelic
conflict, it was necessary to set up for both believer and unbeliever a series
of Divine Laws that would hold the old sin nature in check. These Laws also
provide for the fullest expression of individual freedom.
While the components of Divine establishment were in God’s Plan from
eternity past, they came into existence at various points of time, beginning
with the creation of man in, (Gen 1:26) and extending to the establishment of nations in, (Gen 10:5). Within the
Laws of establishment are the four Divine
institutions: Volition, Marriage, Family and Nationalism. These apply to
the entire human race — believers and unbelievers — regardless of race,
nationality, sex or any other factor.
THE
FOUR DIVINE INSTITUTIONS
Volition
- Free will
Divine Institution Number One — Volition — is not only the first
Principle of Divine establishment and the key to its proper function but is
also the basic authority in the human race. Divine establishment is God’s
perfect Plan, yet it always involves human volition. Adherence
to these Laws of establishment by a maximum number of people in a national
entity guarantees both human freedom and privacy. This freedom of choice gives the individual the inherent
right to life, liberty, privacy, ownership of property “and the pursuit of
happiness,” provided that the individual does not violate the Laws of
establishment or the common Law of a nation.
The first Divine institution was established
when God created man to operate rationally under the volition in his own soul
rather than according to his instincts. While there is variation in
human ability and capacity to learn, all individuals possess volition. God
might have computerized the human race so that He could program man to carry
out His Plan. Instead, it is His desire that we
respond to His grace and serve Him willingly, not
react under some system of slavery. Therefore,
volition is a major issue in the angelic conflict; everyone must be a free
agent to accept or reject Salvation, (Joh 3:36)
the most important decision anyone will ever make. The
will of God is related to man’s free will; and is involved in every area of
life, particularly in Salvation and in his Spiritual advance.
Who desires all
men to be saved and to come to the knowledge [Spiritual Thinking] of
the Truth. (1Ti
2:4)
Since it is the sovereign will of God that all members of the human race
be saved, and since Christ was judged on the Cross for everyone, the exercise
of man’s free will is a demonstration of the grace solution to the angelic
conflict. Christ’s strategic victory of the Cross resolved the angelic
conflict; man’s positive volition is a tactical victory. Although God wills all
mankind to be saved, some are not saved because He honors free will, which
gives man the responsibility to act either in conjunction with or independently
of the will of God.
Acting on positive volition, we enter Phase Two, or the Christian life,
the moment we believe in Christ. During this time, human volition continues to
function as we constantly make decisions. We are free to accept or reject the
Word of Truth as God’s Plan for Phase Two. God has
provided unlimited Divine operating assets for the believer in time: God the
Holy Spirit, the Spiritual life, and the Word of God, which contains all the
information necessary for the Christian to advance to Spiritual maturity in
accordance with the Divine Plan; the “grace
apparatus for perception,” (GAP — Operation Z) which
enables every believer to understand God's Thoughts on every subject. (Amos 4:13) Positive volition toward Truth is a
prerequisite to all stages of Spiritual growth. Only the believer’s own
negative volition can limit or hinder continual progress.
The
“advance to the full knowledge of Truth” is possible only through the
persistent exercise of Operation Z, whereby we break the maturity barrier and
move into Spiritual adulthood, Spiritual maturity and dying grace. We
may elect to read, to listen and to concentrate; or decide to go in the
opposite direction, reject the Plan of God for our lives and succumb to
reversionism.
Marriage
Divine Institution Number Two — Marriage. (Mat
19:5) Both volition and marriage came into existence in the Garden
of Eden before the Fall. (Gen 2:22-24)
Since the man and the woman must be free to enter this mutual relationship,
marriage becomes a utilization of Divine Institution Number One. Divinely
ordained, marriage is structured to form the basic stability in a society. It
totally rejects any Concept which contributes to anarchy, such as promiscuity,
homosexuality, polygamy or excessive divorce.
Under establishment, the marriage of one man to one woman accomplishes
two objectives: (1) it forms the most basic unit of society; (2) it produces
the foundation for Divine Institution Number Three — the Family. Marriage, in
which the authority is assigned to the man, (Gen
3:16) and has as its primary function, the protection of the freedom
both in the national entity and in the individual union; for the unbeliever —
both men and women the Thinking and use of the Laws of
that nation for their authority and protection. (Joh 19:10-11) For believers — both men and women — the Thinking and use of the Laws of that nation, and also
God's Thinking for their authority and protection. (Mat 8:9-10; Pro
8:32-36) In the pursuit of Spiritual
maturity however — we must remain in the
condition we are called — until God provides or does not provide; the husband, wife,
things and or circumstances in our life! (Mat
6:33; Mat 19:12; Mar 8:33-38; 1Co
7:26-35)
Family
Divine Institution Number Three, the Family, (Psa 68:6) was established in, (Gen
4:1) as the second fundamental unit for the safeguard and
perpetuation of the human race. The newborn infant enters the world helpless;
therefore, there must be a means of protection until the child is able to
provide for himself. The family unit offers him discipline, material provision,
training, security and guidance based on his parents’ love for him until he
reaches age — that time in life when he must take full responsibility for his
own decisions and actions.
In addition to providing food, shelter and
clothing, it is the duty of the parents to instill in their children the proper
norms and Standards, to teach them how to evaluate situations in life, to train
them when to say “yes” and when to say “no” and to inculcate in them the
Principles of authority and self-discipline. While parents have many
responsibilities, the children have only one within the family unit, and that
is to respect and obey their parents. (Eph
6:1-3) Love should follow as a natural consequence after the parents
have properly accomplished their job of training.
Nationalism
In the devil’s world, God must provide safety for mankind. He has done
so by dividing the world into national entities with geographical boundaries in
the formation of Divine Institution Number Four. Adherence to the Laws of
establishment under nationalism furnishes protection for each nation. In the
Biblical Concept, a national entity encompasses all three categories — racial,
geographical and linguistic. Anyone who becomes a citizen of this country,
often called the “melting pot” because of its multiracial origins, relinquishes
allegiance to his former homeland and pledges loyalty to this, his adopted
land.
Human government was founded in,
(Gen 9:1) thru (Gen 10:32) at the beginning of the Postdiluvian
Civilization. Obeying God’s Command to “replenish
the [Whole] earth,” the descendants of Noah scattered and resettled in
accordance with the geographical boundaries set for them. (Gen 10:5; Gen
10:31-32) However, as the population increased, the people were
reluctant to separate further and finally congregated in the fertile plains of
the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. (Gen 11:2)
There, at Babel, in the satanically inspired rebellion
against God, the people instituted the false Concept of internationalism. Because
the one nation — one language Concept is contrary to the Divine design for
mankind, the human race might have become extinct but for the grace of God. By enforcing
His Plan of nationalism and by ordaining the existence of many languages, God
secured the perpetuation of mankind. (Gen 11:7-9)
God ordained the Laws of establishment to
be the authority within a LEGITIMATE national entity. As the guardian of freedom, each
nation, whatever its form of government, (Parliamentary, monarchy, republic,
etc.) must protect the inherent right of the individual to privacy, freedom and
to the pursuit of a course of life based upon his own decisions and ability
within the legal framework of that particular type of government. Furthermore,
this freedom must insure the right of the individual to accept or reject Jesus
Christ as Savior. (Act 17:26-28)
While there are several excellent forms of government, the Laws of establishment
can exist under any one of these types. However, there is no way that any
government can perpetuate itself indefinitely. Every
system of government contains the elements by which it will eventually destroy
itself: by negative volition toward the Word of
Truth on the part of the believer, and rejection of the Laws of Divine
establishment on the part of both the believer and the unbeliever. Only adherence to the Laws of establishment and the grace
of God can sustain a nation and its government for any span of time! (Psa 127:1)
One of the most tyrannical forms of government is a democracy, which
means “rule of the many” and is based on the assumption that all men are equal.
Theoretically, democracy is the direct rule of the people; but in practice, it
is essentially a mob rule. The inability of a mob to think, plus minimal
restraint on the old sin nature, precludes any possibility of the proper
function or perpetuation of this governmental system. Alexander Hamilton
perfectly described the tyranny of all democracies:
It has been observed by an honorable gentleman that a pure democracy, if
it were executable, would be the most perfect government. Experience has proved
that no position in politics is more false than this. The ancient democracies,
in which the people themselves deliberated, never possessed one feature of good
government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity. When they assembled, the field of debate presented an
ungovernable mob, incapable of deliberation. In these assemblies the
enemies of the people brought forward their plans of ambition systematically.
They were opposed by their enemies of another party; and it became a matter of
eventuality, whether the people subjected themselves
to be led blindly by one tyrant or another.
The United States is not a democracy. Our nation was originally founded
as a constitutional republic, which is a representative form of government. The
only pure democracy existed in fifth century B.C. Athens, and it soon dissolved
into chaos. As Greece grew into an empire, it was established on the Principle
of an oligarchy — the rule of a few. The hypothesis
that all people are equal is an unrealistic and untrue premise. When
Thomas Jefferson stated in the Declaration of Independence that all men are
created equal, he was saying in effect that the colonists were equal to the
citizens of England in the eyes of the Law. He never meant to imply that
everyone was born with the same intelligence, abilities or talents. Jefferson
was fully aware of the inequality of man, as demonstrated by his ownership of
slaves and his beliefs regarding their lack of status in society. The
Madison/Jefferson letters reflect his complete thought regarding the equality
and inequality of man.
Tragically, we are no longer a true
republic; we are something between a democracy and a “mobocracy.” The governmental Concepts
of our forefathers have been tragically perverted. Satanic propaganda has
steadily nibbled away at our constitutional foundations, with the result that
our once great nation is crumbling. No longer are we a first-rate power nor even an
establishment-oriented country as in the past. Instead,
we are accepting the evil substitutes of socialistic and communistic ideology
as the solutions to our social and economic problems. By ignoring God’s
specific design for nationalism, we have compounded the problems and hastened
our demise.
Because a republic depends upon the virtue and thinking of the people,
it rarely endures more than a few hundred years. The Roman Republic, an
exception to the norm, continued for five hundred years before the Senate
became so decadent that the nation began to disintegrate. Out of the ensuing
century-long civil war rose the triumvirate of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.
After a top-echelon skirmish in which Crassus and Pompey were eliminated,
Julius Caesar emerged victorious as the administrative genius who laid the
foundation for the empire. His brilliant contributions to the Roman
governmental structure were so completely organized on the Laws of Divine
establishment that the empire enjoyed the longest and most phenomenal peace and
prosperity of any era in history.
The Bible advocates only one kind of
government — a monarchy. Historically, the most successful governments
have been some form of monarchy; in fact, the greatest government that will
ever exist will be the personal reign of the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus
Christ, during the millennial dispensation.”
Although both marriage and family are also involved, it is basically
Nationalism, Divine Institution Number Four, which furnishes protection for
Divine Institution Number One — Volition. In his famous war cry during the
preliminary days of the War for Independence, Patrick Henry dramatized this very
relationship between Divine Institutions One and Four. His fiery conclusion,
“Give me liberty, or give me death!” expressed the entire Principle in a
nutshell!
Freedom is the atmosphere and environment for
Spiritual growth. The believer’s self-determination — is the expression of positive volition toward Truth; and
can function best in a free nation. Throughout the history of
nationalism, the religious and political climate of many nations — from the
Sumero-Akkadian Empire of Ur (Gen 11:31)
down to the present-day communist bloc — has suppressed the function of the
Spiritual life, the intake of Truth — Operation Z. Separation from such tyranny
becomes a MUST for Spiritual progress! Just as Abraham could not advance under
the shadow of idolatry and evil and was therefore Commanded by God to separate
from it, so many people have been forced to migrate to our country since its
founding in order to escape the stranglehold that choked their freedom in their
own nation.
PRINCIPLES
INVOLVED UNDER NATIONALISM
Interior
Protection
Interior protection in a national entity, which is the guardian of human
freedom, is achieved through proper enforcement and administration of the Law,
supported by the people and whatever form of government exists. There must be
equitable systems of establishing evidence in the courts, strict punitive
measures for those who are guilty; (Ecc 8:11)
and the immediate release of those who are innocent. The entire internal
security of a people is based upon the justice and skillful administration of
its Law, which is designed to punish the guilty and to protect the innocent.
Capital
Punishment
How tragic is the apathy and lack of respect in this country today in
regard to the Law and its enforcement! Our police officers can be shot down
and, except in rare instances; only minor disciplinary action is taken against
the offender. After spending a short time in jail, criminals are released to
repeat their crimes! When a murderer’s guilt is properly established by conclusive
evidence in a court of Law, that person should be removed from the earth.
Execution is the only answer! The Law must have “teeth,” capital punishment!
There is a wide area of disagreement today regarding the validity of
capital punishment. Its opponents and proponents alike cite the Bible to prove
their position. Is the death penalty indeed a Biblical Principle? Is killing
condoned under any circumstances? What about the sixth Commandment of the
Decalogue, “You shall not murder?” (Exod 20:13) The failure to “rightly divide the word of Truth” has resulted in many unfortunate
distortions of the Concept of “killing.” The Bible authorizes three types of
killing: (1) killing the enemy in battle for the preservation of national
freedom; (Deut 7:2; Ecc 3:3; Ecc 3:8;
Mar 13:7) (2) for personal
self-defense; (2Sa 21:17; Ecc 3:3) (3) for the function of the state in
executing the criminal. (Num 35:30-31; Rom 13:4)
RATSACH, the Hebrew word for “murder,”
is used in the sixth Commandment rather than KATAL, the usual word for “kill”; therefore, it is a prohibition
against homicide. (cf. Mat 19:18) This
Commandment is designed for the preservation of Divine Institution Number One —
Volition. Murder deprives an individual of his life and freedom. Since the operation of free will is the basic issue in the
angelic conflict, the heinous crime of murder was an invention of Satan to
obliterate this very Principle. (Joh 8:44)
Indeed, could he succeed in the total destruction of the human race, he would
win the angelic conflict by default! Thus, it is obvious that this strategy of
the devil to neutralize the angelic conflict must be restrained by the most
drastic measures — a life for a life. (Exod 21:23)
Why, then, you may wonder, did God not pronounce the sentence of capital
punishment on the first murderer in human history — Cain? The answer to this
question will also give us an insight into the Biblical history of Law and the
development of the Divine institutions, which include capital punishment.
Up to that point in human history, there had been no physical death, let
alone murder. In fact, it required the intellect of Cain, a reversionistic believer,
(Gen 4:13-16) under the
influence of satanic
thinking, to devise a way to kill his brother. The New Testament
commentary on Cain’s crime is described by the Greek work SPHAZO in, (1Jn 3:12) which means “to kill as a sacrificial animal.”
In His omniscience, God was cognizant of Abel’s murder from eternity
past; omnipresent God actually witnessed the scene and knew every detail;
Divine justice now demanded a trial. (Psa 116:15)
Since the Laws of establishment were not yet instituted, the first murder
became a matter for the personal attention of the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of Heaven. Cain’s trial, therefore, would be unique. However, only those
details essential to our understanding of the angelic conflict have been
recorded.
Under the perfect justice of God, Cain’s trial was absolutely fair in
every respect. But Cain’s response to the interrogation repeatedly revealed a
distortion of Truth and disorientation to reality
so typical of the reversionistic criminal mind. He
covered for his violence by deceit and thus disclaimed all responsibility for
his own decisions and actions. He further evaded
the Lord’s question regarding the whereabouts of Abel by twisting the Doctrine
of privacy. His retort, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” stated a true
Doctrine — he was not his brother’s keeper! (Rom
14:4-13) However, note his hypocrisy: he
claimed to respect Abel’s privacy only after he had permanently violated it;
then he turned around and used it in his defense!
Even though there was as yet no Standard established for the crime of
murder, Cain knew by conscience he was doing wrong;
otherwise, he would have seen no necessity to bury the evidence! But nothing is
hidden from God, and the blood of his victim cried to God for vengeance. (Gen 4:10; Heb 12:24)
Divine justice cannot and did not overlook the crime. To do so would be a
compromise of God’s essence. However, the implication is that ignorance is no
excuse. Intent is not a factor with God, as it is in our present Law. We define
homicide in terms of first, second and third degree, which involves intent. The
murder of a loved one is of little consequence in our mixed-up, reversionistic
society, which always ignores the blood crying from the ground and pities the
murderer! But the blood of a murder victim sends up signals to God until
justice overtakes the culprit. (Job 16:18-19;
Isa 26:21; Eze
24:7-9; Rev 6:9-10)
Antediluvian
Law
In the Postdiluvian Civilization, under the Laws of Divine
establishment, the crime of murder would demand the death penalty. But since
Cain’s crime occurred before God had given man the Principle of capital punishment,
the Lord imposed a unique sentence, which would be representative of the
Antediluvian Civilization.
Now you are cursed from the ground, which
has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you
cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; [Produce]
you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth. (Gen
4:11-12)
This was a harsh penalty for a man who loved his profession and was
proud of his superior agricultural abilities. Cain was not executed because at
that time there was no Law against murder, nor had a punishment been
designated. Although it was both sin and evil, murder had not been defined in
relation to the Laws of establishment. Even more important, to remove Cain from
the earth in this stage of history would destroy the meaning of the angelic
conflict. Throughout man’s history, Cain’s and all progeny, must have the
opportunity to be saved. In these extenuating circumstances, the justice of God
placed Cain under a lifetime sentence which involved a double curse.
First, Cain would no longer be permitted to pursue his profession of
farming. The earth would no longer respond to the cultivating hand of Cain.
Second, Cain was set apart from society as an established criminal. People
could not look at him without saying, “There is Cain, the murderer”; and this
would constitute a form of isolation. This twofold punishment was the
forerunner of imprisonment for the separation of the criminal from society. A
third punishment, execution, would not be added until the establishment of the
Divine institution of nationalism. (Gen 9:6;
Gen 10:32) God knows exactly how to fit
the punishment to the crime; in Cain’s case, it was calculated to make him
miserable for life! Yet it was a grace punishment, a
reminder to Cain of his need for rebound, for at any time, he could exercise
positive volition toward God and Truth.
Cain said to the LORD,
My punishment is too great to bear! (Gen 4:13)
Cain was more concerned about the consequences of his crime to himself,
than about the crime itself. This is true of the criminal mind: there is no
conscience or remorse involved for violating the freedom and rights of another
— only self-pity and occupation with his own rights! Yet Cain ignored the fact
that his crime had canceled the rights of his brother; consequently, he had
forfeited his own personal rights.
In his punishment, Cain was deprived of a normal life because criminals are abnormal. Not only is it ludicrous,
but it is also dangerous for the Law to recognize the insanity plea for a
criminal. Insanity is part of being criminal! Criminals are always divorced
from reality! Furthermore, regardless of a criminal’s frame of mind, he still acts
from his own volition and must be held responsible for his actions.
Behold, You have driven me this day from
the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be
hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever
finds me will kill me. (Gen 4:14).
Cain realized the severity of the sentence; and although he had rejected
God’s Plan of Spiritual maturity, he did not wish to be driven out of the area
of blessing. (Jude 1:11-13) Unbelievers
as well as believers benefit from the proper function of the Laws of Divine
establishment. But, like Cain, many shirk or even defy the very Laws that
sustain them. Our jails today are filled with Cain’s reversionistic
counterparts who want the grace blessings of this country without the responsibility
of obeying its Laws. The “sick society” is one that is filled with a maximum
number of antiestablishment reversionists. Unless they are saved and or renewed
in their Thinking, (Rom 12:2) God will
eventually have to destroy the nation!
When Cain surveyed the monstrous situation that
he had created by his crime, he became afraid for his own life. In his
reversionistic imagination, he already anticipated a large army of
revenge-seekers from the ever increasing line of believers ready to avenge
Abel’s death. He at once recognized the trend of the Antediluvian Civilization
toward violence. By introducing murder into the human race, Cain had set a
precedent which might boomerang on himself at any time.
When a criminal violates the Laws of establishment,
he becomes wary of everyone, for the Law no longer constitutes a defense. Whenever
establishment is set aside or destroyed, its protective vigor dwindles and
society, stripped of freedom and privacy, becomes a deadly jungle in which
every individual must fend for himself. In such
an unstable environment, the constant threat of violence prevents living a
normal life.
The Divine judgment gave Cain such a sense of insecurity that he
appealed his sentence. His appeal also explains the reason for the necessity of
capital punishment. Without this restraint, people would take the Law into
their own hands to avenge the murder of loved ones and would turn the world
into a great blood-feud.
So the LORD said to him, Therefore whoever
kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD appointed a
sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him. (Gen
4:15)
Cain had to be shielded from human reprisal; but more important,
Law-abiding citizens must be protected from the temptation of taking criminal
action against the murderer. Though the criminal, by his Lawlessness, has
forfeited his freedom and deserves punishment, any punitive measures are the
prerogative of duly authorized personnel, not of any private individual. Whoever pursues vengeance deprives himself of the same
establishment benefits lost by the criminal.
“Sevenfold” expresses the
intensity of Divine retribution toward the avenger who takes the Law into his
own hands. Anyone seeking to retaliate against Cain would be guilty of a worse
crime; moreover, he would reduce himself to the level of the criminal!
Uncontrolled, emotional vigilante action is never justified, nor is it a
legitimate solution to crime. Vigorous, Lawful measures on the part of Law
enforcement officers and increased punishment in the hands of professional
judges; are the ingredients which stem the tide of vicious criminal activity.
The “sign of Cain,” therefore,
represented a Principle of Divine Law in the Antediluvian Civilization. It was
not an additional punishment, nor was it the source of the melanoderma races,
[Black] as some commentators have fancifully alleged. Whatever its appearance,
it was merely a visible sign to designate the offender and to restrain further
violent activity. Prison bars today are analogous to the mark of Cain. Just as
jail cells isolate the prisoner from unauthorized punishment, so Cain’s
protective warning sign said in effect, “Do not attack this man and become a
criminal yourself. Divine justice has already been enacted!”
God’s judgment took the place of human government to provide a Law to
protect the fledgling human race from destroying itself in one massive
vendetta. The insertion of Law into the human race was also a safeguard for the
freedom, privacy and function of mankind so that evangelism might occur in
every generation. Cain’s sign became the antediluvian procedure and a
forecasting of the future system of Law under Divine establishment. It would be
replaced by human government in the Postdiluvian Civilization. Not until after
the population had expanded and the angelic conflict had become a full-scale
engagement with the human race, did God ordain capital punishment as the
establishment solution to capital crimes such as murder and rape (Gen 9:5-6; Exod
21:12-14; Num 35:30-31) When
government fails in this responsibility, as has the administration in the
United States during the past decade, Law enforcement becomes so weakened that
crime cannot be controlled, and the freedom of the Law-abiding citizen can no
longer be protected.
Exterior
Protection
Exterior protection of a nation is delegated to the military
establishment. The Bible has much to say concerning the role of the military,
for it is designed by God to be the means of defending and preserving national
sovereignty and freedom, both in the area of armed force; (Num 31:3-5; Num
31:32; Jos 5:13-15; thru Jos 6:3; Jdg 3:2;
Jdg 3:9-10; Neh
4:14; Psa 18:34; Mat 24:6; Rev 19:11)
and as an intelligence agency. (Jos 2:1-24;
1Sa 30:11-18) We are free today in the
United States because, for two hundred years our valiant men have died on
battlefields all over the world, and our enemies have been annihilated. Many of
you became believers after World War II; yet you might not have had the liberty
to hear the Gospel had it not been for the magnificent American Army which
fought in that war! Those who sneer at the uniform and ridicule the military
establishment are being congratulated by the devil! There is nothing more
disgraceful than the failure to recognize an axiom which is conspicuous
throughout the pages of the Word of God: Freedom
comes through military victory!
General Douglas MacArthur eloquently expressed this Biblical Truth when
he accepted the Japanese surrender on the Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. He
said, “The issues... Have been determined on the battlefields of the world and
hence are not for our discussion or debate!” There is no room for argument with
totally victorious armed forces! But when a nation’s military is so weakened as
to be incapable of victory, it cannot restrain foreign predators, and thus
freedom is destroyed from without. Our liberties are secured by bona fide
warfare, which then permits the government to function properly in perpetuating
our individual freedoms. On the other hand, the satanic
and liberal thinking of the pacifist politician squanders our hard-earned
independence.
The violence of evildoers can be restrained only by the greater violence
of righteousness. Divine establishment represents that righteousness embodied
in the Concept of a prepared military. The Principle of military establishment
is based on the fact that a stronger righteous power provides freedom from the
encroaching forces of evil. The battlefield victories of the nations which
employ the violence of righteousness and establishment have made it possible
for the human race to continue in this phase of the angelic conflict.
In his aggressive domination of the world, the rapacious violence of
Genghis Khan and subsequent Mongol hordes of thirteenth century turned a large
civilization in Asia into a desert. Had it not been for a few Polish, Austrian,
Prussian, Hungarian and Greek knights who had the courage to oppose these
invading enemies by exerting the utmost justified violence. Western Europe
would be Mongolian today! Similar instances have occurred in other periods of
history. Why is all Europe not Mohammedan? Because Charles Martel and a group
of organized, pro-establishment, military-minded individuals used legitimate
violence to kill Mohammedans and drive them back beyond the Pyrenees. With her
fantastic army, navy and air force, the United States of America moved in to
help suppress the tyranny of Japan and Germany in World War II. It takes an
incredible amount of violence to preserve national independence! Justified violence related to establishment is the sole
deterrent to violent aggression and is the means of perpetuating freedom.
Few politicians in this country today
understand the difference between evil violence and righteous violence.
Demonstrated in favor of welfare and other disastrously socialistic programs.
Our lack of Spiritual courage is seen in our rejection of the Truth that
evil powers must be subdued by legitimate forces. We
no longer demonstrate the backbone needed to prevent the aggression of
internationalism. If this cowardice continues,
we will inevitably be subjected either to enemy takeover by the blackmail of
the rattling saber on the outside and or to actual attack from the inside. The
violence of anarchy and antiestablishment is out of control in many areas of
the United States of America.
The
Military Image of Jesus Christ
No nation remains free without having that freedom challenged. In both
the struggle for and the perpetuation of Jewish freedom after the Exodus, Jesus
Christ Himself was the Commander in Chief of the Jewish Armies.
Now it came about when Joshua was by
Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing
opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said
to him, Are you for us or for our adversaries?
He said, No;
rather I indeed come now as captain of the host [Armies] of the LORD. And
Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, What has
my Lord to say to his servant? The captain of the LORD'S host said to Joshua,
Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is
holy. And Joshua did so. (Jos 5:13-15)
Jesus Christ issued instructions to annihilate the enemy to spare
neither man, woman, child nor animal. (Deut 7:2;
Jos 6:21) When His Command was not obeyed
completely, the Israelites suffered dire repercussions, even for generations to
follow. (Jdg 2:1-15) The Lord Jesus
Christ holds the record for slaughtering the enemy. At His word, the Assyrian
Army of 185,000 infantrymen was destroyed in one night. (Isa 37:36) He will break His own record in this
application of righteous violence at the close of the Tribulation, when He will
decimate the military invaders in the Middle East. (Rev
19:17-21)
Today many believers would censure the Lord Jesus Christ if they
understood the impact of this passage. They envision Him only as the meek and
mild Jesus Who spoke in terms of turning the other
cheek. (Impersonal love in the Spiritual life)
(Mat 5:39)
Modern liberalism have also pilfered support from many of the Biblical
statements concerning the Millennium, which it has attempted to associate
falsely with our present dispensation. For example, such passages as “...They will hammer their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks...” (Isa 2:4) Or “...Nation
will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for
war.” (Mic 4:3) have absolutely
nothing to do with this age. During the Dispensation of the Church and the
Tribulation which follows, there will be “wars
and rumors of wars.” (Mat 24:6)
Only the return and reign of Jesus Christ will assure universal peace, and that
will be based upon His decisive execution of righteous violence to destroy evil
violence in the final battle at Armageddon.
Preparation
for War and Peace
To insure peace, you must be prepared for war! Instead of disarmament,
the objective of any intelligent nation is to be well prepared and well-armed.
Only those individuals living in a fool’s paradise encourage disarmament,
antiwar demonstrations and the burning of draft cards! They have misapplied certain Scriptures and
completely distorted others. In any
generation, righteous violence is absolutely essential for the preservation of
national freedom.
In another period of Jewish history, when Nehemiah returned to
Jerusalem, the nation was only a small group of people, disarmed and surrounded
by enemies. Threatened from the north by the Samaritans, from the southwest by
the Philistines, from the east by the Moabites and from the south by the Edomites
and Arabs, the Jews were in desperate straits. Nehemiah, an administrator under
the King of Persia and a brilliant military genius, had been granted leave to
aid his stricken people. He immediately organized a Jewish Army for the defense
of Jerusalem while the reconstruction of the crumbling walls was in progress.
When the army was assembled, he addressed the troops in order to inspire
battlefield courage.
When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to
the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: Do not be afraid of them;
remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers,
[Nation] your sons, your daughters, [Family] your wives [Marriage] and your
houses. [Freedom — volition] (Neh
4:14)
Though physically outnumbered by the enemy forces, the Jews had a vastly
superior strength on their side the Lord of the Armies, Jesus Christ. “...If [Since] God is for us, who is
against us?” (Rom 8:31) Was
Nehemiah’s battle cry! If Jesus Christ did not hesitate to kill the enemy,
neither should they! Then Nehemiah reminded them of the Divine institutions,
which are the ONLY motivation for justified warfare: their nation — Divine
Institution Number Four; their families Number Three; their wives — Number Two;
their homes — Number One — the Divine Concept of freedom and privacy and the
right, (Volition) to follow a course of life as Law-abiding citizens.
Many of you men, as believers in Jesus Christ and as members of an
authorized military unit, will engage in combat with Communists. At that time,
I want you to remember this Precept: when you, filled with the Spirit, kill the
enemy, you are fulfilling your Christian responsibility! You are protecting
your wives, your sweethearts and your country, and both you and they should
thank God for every one you kill. Never return home with a guilt complex. The
profession of arms is an ancient and honorable calling.
When our enemies heard that it was known
to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the
wall, each one to his work. (Neh 4:15)
A prepared national military heads off enemy aggression. The only way to
avoid war is to be adequately equipped in advance! Understandably, man desires
peace, and his freedom is best expressed in times of peace; but the manner of
achieving and maintaining that peace has been the subject of much debate
throughout history. Disoriented, unrealistic and
demonic individuals advocate peace through capitulation to the enemy; they
assume they can usher in world peace by good will. Yet, despite man’s
efforts for peace, warfare will continue until the Millennium; (Mat 24:6; Mar 13:7;
Luk 21:9) therefore, for the
preservation of nationalism, war is an inevitable, indeed, an essential part of
history. (Num 21:14; Ecc 3:8)
No nation ever achieved a more impressive record for maintaining
national peace than the Romans, who enjoyed several periods of over one hundred
years without war. Why? Because of their total military preparedness! Tacitus,
a Roman historian, explained the power and strength of SPQR: “The tranquility
of a nation is not preserved without arms. The troops cannot be maintained
without pay, and their pay cannot be made good without taxes.” Taxation, a bona
fide function of government, is the source of support for a military
organization. “Pax Romana” (The peace of Rome) meant not only peace for Rome
but for all its client states and provinces as well. As a result, the Augustan
Age sponsored the second great cultural surge of Western European civilization.
Armies can defend freedom with righteous violence or destroy it with
unrighteous violence. National sovereignty, freedom and integrity inevitably
depend on the winning army and, as a rule, the superior force! In, (Jer 12:12) the Chaldean Army was destroying the
freedom of the Jews; in, (Jer 34:7) the
Jewish Army was struggling to defend their liberty. When the Chaldean Army
emerged victorious, Jewish freedom became a page in history. (Jer 40:1-3)
A portion of Divine judgment against a nation is military defeat, which
accompanies the fifth cycle of discipline and the enslavement of the people.
There is always a decline in the military establishment before this judgment
occurs. The fifth cycle of discipline was administered to Assyria in 612 B.C.,
but the Assyrian military had been deteriorating for thirty years. The Chaldean
military, was in the process of decay since the death of Nebuchadnezzar in 562
B.C., and was easily subdued by the Persians in 539 B.C. The same was true for
both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Thus,
when a nation’s armed forces are demoralized and unprepared, the nation is in
grave danger of losing in war and forfeiting the freedom of its people.
Since freedom is secured on the battlefield, universal military training
is a vital factor in national survival. (Num
31:3-5; Neh 4:1-23; Luk 14:31) Initially, the Jewish nation
subscribed to universal military training; but with the passing years, the
reduction in forces (RIF) gradually depleted the army until it virtually ceased
to exist!
How blessed are the people who
know the joyful sound! O LORD, they walk in the light of Your countenance.
(Psa 89:15)
There is double happiness to the nation which continues to respond to
the call to military preparedness. The plural of the Hebrew noun ASHERE, “happiness’s,” has a two-fold meaning.
First, the security derived from universal military training raises the quality
of young men in any generation. The service regimen can take a “wimp” and
transform him into a real man! Why? It teaches him the self-discipline,
team-discipline, respect for authority, polish and poise so necessary in life.
Second, if the quality of the men is improved, the women are blessed by
association. Military training is futile if the men in
the nation are degenerate, apostate and antiestablishment, full of emotional
revolt and scar tissue. Under these conditions of the soul,
self-discipline and respect for authority are nonexistent; consequently, the
idea of a volunteer army becomes ludicrous. Although there are many fine people
serving in VOLAR, it cannot meet the communist threat of the present hour. Every
able-bodied American man, from eighteen years on, should spend a portion of his
life learning the military skills. This is the only answer to our military
problems today.
There are two ways by which a nation is preserved in a crisis: the
victorious action of the military and or the existence of Spiritually mature
believers. When the military is unable to function
because of the evil policy of national rulers or because of general apostasy
from reversionism, the only hope for the
nation lies in a maximum number of Spiritually mature believers. Jesus
Christ controls history, and His direct intervention preserves mature believers
who have been faithful in taking in the Word, as expressed by the last half of,
(Psa 89:15). If
the nucleus of mature believers is large enough, the entire nation is
delivered. (Psa 46:8-10; Ecc 9:13-15; Isa
28:4-6; Isa 37:31)
“...Walk in the light of Your
countenance” in (Psa 89:15) is a
transition from the military Concept of universal military training to the
Spiritual factor in preserving a nation. There is a
relationship between the military establishment and Spiritual progress.
Enlistment in the service is analogous to entrance into the Plan of God through
Salvation. Once you enlist, you are in full-time Christian service! Advance in
the military is achieved by learning to respect authority — first, from the
drill instructor. In the Spiritual life, advance is accomplished through
concentration on the message of your Spiritual authority, the pastor-teacher.
Both require self-discipline which — in the
Spiritual realm, is the assimilation of the Mind of Christ — Divine Thinking — Truth.
Each generation must learn discipline and authority to perpetuate both national
and Spiritual greatness.
Military defeat on the battlefield is an indication of the lack of
self-discipline, Spiritual incentive, motivation for courage and respect for
authority, which are the essential components in the perpetuation of freedom.
Failure of the military can also be an index of the character and stability of
the population of that national entity. In fact, God often uses the military in
action to demonstrate the Spiritual and moral degeneracy of a nation, as in the
conquest of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. Sometimes defeat will come to
the nation which fails to correctly interpret history as well as current
events. This factor, coupled with the overruling will of God, explains the
decline of certain military forces throughout history that otherwise had superb
leadership.
In his last words, Nathan Hale, symbolizing the spirit of patriotism,
left a noble heritage for all Americans when he courageously declared, “I only regret that I have but one life to
lose for my country!”
Those who understand the Laws of Divine establishment know it is better
to die with honor on the field of battle than to be a slave — or worse!
Characteristics
of Good Military Leadership
Another index of national character is the type of leadership it
produces, whether civilian or military. (Pro
24:1-6) Business, professional and military leadership in this
country has excelled in the past and has been one of the keys to our greatness
as a nation. All successful leaders are flexible, have a relaxed mental
attitude under pressure and have the ability to vigorously resolve any
contingency at the most advantageous time. They make policy on the basis of
Principle rather than on conformity to a personality image. Robert E. Lee,
Thomas Jonathan Jackson, John J. Pershing and Douglas MacArthur, to name a few,
possessed fantastic mental attitude dynamics under stress and pressure.
Military leadership demands self-discipline, group-discipline, a sense
of responsibility and courage. Effective leadership includes fighting for the
military, as well as fighting as the military! Military leaders must also
possess the confidence which is derived through professional understanding and
knowledge of military science. Some of the most self-assured Commanders in
history — from Napoleon to Alfred von Schlieffen — had a phenomenal Concept of
logistics, strategy and tactics. Common sense, good judgment, loyalty,
recognition of authority, fairness to all personnel regardless of personal
prejudices, an understanding of others, executive ability, good health, flair,
poise and courtesy; are all vital in military leadership.
Economy
Based on Free Enterprise
The foundation for the economic prosperity of a nation is free
enterprise. Every country that has operated under free enterprise Principles
has been singularly blessed. Largely as the result of American free enterprise,
the economy of many areas flourished, such as West Germany, Southern France and
Northern Italy, particularly from 1870 until around 1910. When Woodrow Wilson
became president in 1913, an era of good economy built on free enterprise began
to decline.
Under a resurgence of free enterprise, American industry and ingenuity
reached its peak during the World War II era and enabled us to contribute
immeasurably to the winning of that war. Immediately after the war, our free
enterprise system maintained the economy, provided jobs for men who returned
from the war, and gave them the opportunity to go as far as their ability could
carry them with the freedom they so recently had won.
Few people recognize the relationship
between free enterprise and a good military establishment. Yet this Principle has been
understood at various periods in history, as demonstrated by the Great Elector,
Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia. During his reign over these two
sections of land in Northern Germany, there existed at the same time a group of
believers in France called the Huguenots, whose lives were centered in the
Bible. They formed the stable middle-class industrial backbone of France; until
Roman Catholic persecutions and the repeal of the Edict of Nantes, which had
guaranteed their religious freedom, forced them to leave their mother country.
Where did they go?
At the invitation of Frederick William, who promised them capital,
religious liberty and freedom from governmental interference in industry, the
Huguenots moved to Brandenburg-Prussia. There, under the system of free
enterprise, they set up a phenomenal industrial complex and laid the foundation
for a powerful military establishment that was still in effect in the days of
Frederick William’s grandson and continued for 150 years. Subsequently, under
Bismark, there emerged a unified German state whose greatness and power were a
direct result of its adherence to the Principles of Divine establishment.
Government was never intended to regulate
the lives and industry of individuals. Rather, it is established to protect their inherent rights
of privacy and freedom. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you had better take
another look at industry, because you are looking at the last stand! The men in
industry are supporting the population of this country. If you wipe out big
business, little business will also collapse. Every business organization is in
some way related to the industrial structure. You cannot name a business that
does not depend on some industry.
In Jeremiah, the economic disaster
of Judah is related to the rejection of the Laws of Divine establishment.
For the mountains I will take up a weeping
and wailing, And for the pastures of the wilderness a dirge, Because they are
laid waste so that no one passes through, And the lowing of the cattle is not
heard; Both the birds of the sky and the beasts have fled; they are gone. (Jer
9:10)
Industry is defined in this context under the Concept of an agricultural
economy. At that time, business had been operating under free enterprise; but
because of the decline of establishment in other areas, particularly the
military, industry was also crippled. Military and economic disintegration
opened the doors to the invading army, and Judah’s land was devastated!
Like Jeremiah, as we see our personal
freedoms gradually diminishing, we may wonder how much longer we can exist as a
free nation. The decline
in one area of establishment is always related to the decline in other areas.
Which takes precedence, may vary from time to time and from nation to nation;
in fact the deterioration may occur simultaneously.
When free enterprise is destroyed and
socialism is instituted, taxes are increased to support such travesties as
socialized medicine and a guaranteed minimum wage, while the military funds are
decreased. Then it is only a matter of how the nation will go out: a depression
from the dissolution of big business; widespread disease as a result of
socialized medicine and consequent lack of incentive in the medical profession;
a take-over by organized crime because the citizenry has been disarmed; or
invasion by enemy forces and loss of freedom due to depletion of the military! We in this country are on the verge
of economic and military collapse; and just as tears came to Jeremiah’s eyes as
he watched the disintegration of Judah, so we should not only weep but pray for
our country as it faces this danger!
Common
Law
In a national entity, there must be a single system of Law which
operates according to the Principle of objectivity. Under this judicial
uniformity, there are two types of Laws — one that controls governmental
function and another that settles and regulates matters among people within the
framework of a nation. Legislation should never encroach upon freedom; it is
designed to protect the life and freedom, privacy and property of Law-abiding
citizens.
Law is perverted when it is used as an
attempt to make people equal, when it caters to expediency or places the honest
citizen in jeopardy under the guise of the satanic policy — the greatest good for
the greatest number.
A recent occurrence in an eastern state is a case in point. In the process of
being robbed in his home, a well-to-do citizen shot and wounded the intruder.
Not only did the criminal recover, but he subsequently sued the homeowner and
was awarded substantial damages which bankrupted the man! In many states, the
Law has been so distorted that the use of firearms to protect one’s life,
family or property from criminal activity no longer constitutes a legal
defense.
When the legal system breaks down under subjective legislation or when
good Law is administered by reversionists. It is a simple matter for the
criminal to violate the Law without suffering any serious reprisal. Most
criminal activity is the result of rationalization from blackout and scar
tissue of the soul. (The latter stages of reversionism) The reprobate
rationalizes that since the legal system will shield him, he can
indiscriminately murder, steal, rape, destroy property or indulge in any minor
or major infraction of the Law. So effective have been the demands of the
criminal for his “rights’ that today he has been rendered almost immune to
punishment. In reality, the criminal forfeited his rights when he violated the
Law. The only right any Lawbreaker has is the right to a fair trial! When the Law becomes the basis of removing liberty and
intruding upon the privacy of the innocent, thus subjecting private citizens to
criminal activity and violence, the country has lost the use and protection of
its Law.
The Law is intended to restrain crime, to prosecute and remove violators
from society and at the same time to protect Law-abiding citizens; yet
legislators in reversionism are enacting Laws that make almost any manner of
crime a non-punishable offense! Criminals, so to speak, come in the front door
of the Justice Building but are let out through the back door! The
deterioration of Law is as evident today as the network of crime syndicates,
which operate freely and with impunity.
Much of our present legislation is soft on
crime; furthermore, it represents the greatest intrusion upon personal liberty
that has ever existed in this country. Many of the invasions of our privacy are
perpetrated under some subtle ruse, such as the population census or the income
tax. Most people are not even aware that
these are attacks upon their freedom and privacy. I recently read an article
entitled “Frogs and Freedom,” which perfectly describes what is currently
happening to our freedoms.
There’s an old story that says
you can’t kill a frog by dropping him in boiling water. He reacts so quickly to
the sudden heat that he jumps out before he’s hurt. But if you put him in cold
water and then warm it up gradually, he never decides to jump till it’s too
late. By then he’s cooked.
Men are just as foolish. Take away their freedom overnight, and you’ve
got a violent revolution. But steal it from them
gradually, (Under the guise of security,
“peace,” and or “progress”) you can paralyze an
entire generation. Look at the income tax. It started out as a harmless
sounding 1%. It would have been easy to jump out of water as tepid as this, but
like the frog we waited while it climbed even higher. (Try jumping now!)
Worst of all, we never learn. Even today
we cannot believe that Medicare is the same warm water that will one day boil
us in Socialized Medicine.
We see no connection between farm price supports and
Nationalized (State controlled) Agriculture. And if we draw a parallel between subsidized
teachers’ pay and federal control of education, we are called “extremist.”
The tragedies of history are always repeated by
those who refuse to learn them. To seek guidance from the past is not
“turning the clock back,” as we are so often told. It is merely a good way to
keep out of hot water.
Gun legislation, as advocated today, is
another prime example of our liberties being swallowed up by governmental
interference. According to
our Constitution, Law-abiding citizens have the right to own and to use
firearms; and all legislation should defend that right. The prohibition of this privilege will only result in the removal of guns
from honest citizens and leave weapons in the hands of the felon. Since he knows he is the only one who is armed, his job is
facilitated immensely!
Crime is not the result of individual ownership of firearms! The same
factor that produces a weak society produces crime: reversionism and the
influence of evil in the souls of individuals. When you have a sick society,
you also have a maximum number of criminals in that society because an evil
society cannot restrain crime. Before a person becomes a criminal, he has
entered into the last stages of reversionism — blackout of the soul and scar
tissue — where he is totally influenced by evil, not sin. You must understand
that sin is not synonymous with evil. While evil and sin often overlap and
certain types of evil are also sinful, evil embodies
the entire satanic thought pattern, which is antiestablishment and anti-Truth.
Crime, therefore, does not originate directly in the old sin nature.
While it is true that all criminals are sinners because everyone in the human
race possesses an old sin nature, (Rom 3:23)
yet not all sinners are criminals. Crime involves
other influences related to evil: human volition and deliberate violation of
the Laws of Divine establishment. Thus, restraints on the volition
restrain crime, and this is one of the major factors for the existence of the
Laws of Divine establishment.
Common
Culture
There must be a common culture in a national entity which reflects the
Spiritual life, the obedience, the nobility and the patriotism of the people.
Culture is expressed in at least four areas: literature, drama, art and music.
For example, music, whatever style — classical, baroque, impressionistic, jazz,
pop, swing, and patriotic — should inspire and uplift. By
this Standard, much of our contemporary music, such as “Psychedelic,’ “Rock”
and the “Beat,” reflects chaos, disorder and confusion, and encourages the
breakdown of the Laws of establishment and glorifies the use of drugs. Art,
literature and drama should always manifest the vigor, the best of a nation — not its decadence and reversionism. Much of our present-day culture represents the old sin
nature and the psychotic soul. People in
reversionism cultivate the evil and the ugly, the degrading and the seamy side
of life, rather than that which is lofty and noble — the true purpose of
the arts.
Governmental
Function
The administration of government-must operate in compliance with the
foregoing Principles of patriotism and allow the genius of its people to
express itself. This is done through two channels:
one, to leave its citizens alone without governmental interference; and two, to
protect those citizens from criminal activity; (The old sin natures' of people) in the country and from without.
While we are born with certain unquestionable rights, the
government is designed to protect, not to
guarantee these rights to everyone nor indeed to anyone! Neither can we
compel the government to give us those commodities which are already our
natural rights. This was certainly not the intent of our forefathers in framing the Constitution. The purpose of the
Constitution was to prohibit the Federal Government from tampering with our
rights. It is important to understand the distinction between the Principle of
inherent right and that to which we have a right. “Rights” are merely the just
or Lawful claims on whatever we can lawfully possess by our own efforts and
abilities. In other words, the
government must not guaranty us food, shelter, clothing, property, jobs, etc.; but
it must protect our freedom to lawfully acquire them! Our
inherent rights to exploit whatever opportunities come our way must not be
denied or tampered with! (Mat 6:31-33)
Tragically, in this country, an ever-expanding
bureaucracy of demoniacally minded people has dissipated our national prosperity
through a system of governmental agencies instituted to encroach in every area
of our society. Consequently, in the name of politics, we are saddled with a
group of self-serving individuals, who lack Spiritual Virtue — in ALL places of
leadership; such a condition stifles ingenuity and incentive. In this sense,
our federal government has become an immoral hierarchy! With one goal in mind;
the bringing in of the “One World” government!
Freedom
to Evangelize
Freedom provides the basis for the proper function of evangelism. Since
freedom of choice is prerequisite for response to the Gospel, national freedom
becomes essential in order that Gospel information may be disseminated without
fear of punishment; and those who do believe in Christ must not be subjected to
retaliation. Every person who is positive at the point of God-consciousness has
the right to hear the alternatives and to exercise positive or negative
volition toward the Gospel.
He who believes in the Son has eternal
life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God
abides on him.
(Joh 3:36)
The Laws of establishment protect human freedom and enable evangelism to
function in every generation. While the agents of evangelism vary in each
dispensation of human history, the Principle of evangelism remains unchanged
that is, the Gospel will always be presented, and those who accept its Truth
will be saved. (Act 16:31) Obviously,
evangelism and the teaching of Truth must occur where people are — the
inhabited earth; but where many people congregate, crime and violence will be
inevitable, because of the angelic conflict and the influence of evil. Without a system of authority to restrain them, people will
always cease to behave like human beings. When every man does that which is right in his own eyes, (Jdg 17:6) Law and order breaks down in society;
the Law of the jungle takes over, and like a pack of wild animals, the strong
tyrannize the weak. A perfect illustration is the
conditions that exist in any disaster or catastrophe situation where all
authority has been temporarily wiped out. Looters
and marauders descend to plunder, rape, and destroy. Overt restraints
are necessary to curb this vile activity of mankind.
Evangelism is virtually impossible under such chaotic conditions. Only
by God’s overruling will, in cases of positive volition, can the Truth be made
available. To bring order out of chaos, God
instituted the Laws of establishment as part of Jesus Christ’s control of
history so that mankind would continue to exist, be evangelized and grow to
Spiritual maturity, even in the devil’s world! The Divine institutions
were also established by God for this same purpose. Even in the worst period of
human history — the Tribulation — volition, marriage, families and nations will
still exist. No disaster, no type of warfare nor satanic strategy can eliminate
the human race and the individual right to choose for or against God’s Plan. (Mat 24:14) The only issue is whether this will
be done under an orderly system or under extremely difficult conditions of
confusion and tumult. Again, this reminds us of the
axiom that Jesus Christ controls history — directly,
indirectly and permissively!
Satan would neutralize or destroy the human race if he could, and the
angelic warfare would be “no contest!” But when God created man. He also
assumed responsibility for maintaining him; therefore, the human race can never
be eradicated. No nuclear weapon, no invention
devised by man will ever decimate the entire populated earth. (Until the end of the
Tribulation period) Nothing or no one can set aside or negate the Plan of God.
Individuals will die — even in tremendous numbers; but God’s Plan grants
that humanity itself will survive. The fear that
someone will “push a button, a meteor collision, a plague, an economic system
collapse, and no healthcare” makes a sensational movie plot, and it also makes
cowards of people and politicians! This is the demonic cry from the leaders in
our national government! As a result, our nation
has become deceived. Furthermore, such timidity by the people is a contributing
factor in the rush toward internationalism, a system sponsored by Satan; and
never more present, in internal and external affairs than in our time!
NATIONALISM
VERSUS INTERNATIONALISM
While nationalism provides the maximum opportunity for freedom to
operate under the Laws of establishment, internationalism,
by the very nature of its system, is more vulnerable to despotism and tyranny.
Why? Because of the influence of evil and the lust pattern of the old sin
natures'; OF ALL PEOPLE! (Rom 7:18)
Internationalism imposes fewer restraints on the sin
natures of those in power and allows greater margin for the enslavement of
people. Nationalism is God’s system for safeguarding mankind by
providing a balance of power among many nations rather than a concentration of
power in the hands of a few individuals. (Gen
11:1-9) Under internationalism, Satan can
more easily rule his domain and enforce his policy of evil, which includes the
destruction of human freedom. While leadership often functions under the
influence of evil in one nation, nationalism acts as a deterrent to the
spreading of this evil to other countries. Nationalism isolates evil; it does
not prevent it. Only adherence to Divine
establishment and Spiritual growth can frustrate evil!
The satanic strategy is to weaken and deceive
the nations, (Isa 14:12; Rev 20:8) in order to
wrest control of the world from Jesus Christ, as the devil has already seized
its rulership from man. (Joh 12:31)
What better way than to oppose and destroy God’s Plan
of nationalism? Satan’s first scheme was the
Tower of Babel where he sponsored the building of a city and mammoth tower,
which would be the basis for an international religion. It became the focal point for power and a breeding ground for
concentrated evil and rejection of God. (Gen 11:3-4; cf., Isa
14:12-14)
God’s indictment
against the combined efforts of Satan and man was the dispersion of the human
race, the institution of national boundaries and the creation of many
languages. (Gen 11:8-9)
The idea that there would be better understanding and brotherhood among
nations if all the languages in the world were merged into one common language
has been once and for all demonstrated to be mere illusion. Man’s problem is
not a multiplicity of languages or the lack of international understanding; but the ever-present influence of demonism and the fact that
we all possess the old sin nature — that the demons use to war with us. (Eph 6:12) A universal language did not guard
that civilization against satanic evil or the expression of Satan’s policy — in
human old sin nature good,” nor will it today.
(Gen 8:21) Like
sheep, people are easily led astray and taken in by the devil’s deceptions. (2Ti 2:25-26) Only the believer who knows and understands God's Thinking
can see through his clever devices. (2Co
2:11)
Satan has never ceased his efforts to
organize a one-world system.
Indeed, as history moves-on to its culmination, the
devil’s aims of internationalism will appear to succeed. However, with
all his genius, Satan is incapable of pulling the peoples of the world together
and ruling them under internationalism, as will be demonstrated during the
final period of the Tribulation. He can never circumvent God’s Plan of
nationalism!
Contrary to what is so often proclaimed from the pulpits today, God’s
Word neither advocates nor condones internationalism. During
the angelic conflict, internationalism or one-world-ism is satanic,
anti-Christian and anti-God. This includes the
United Nations, the World Council of Churches, Communism and every other
international system, whether political or religious. Internationalism has no
place in God’s system. It is outlawed all the way! Even in the Millennium, national entities will remain
existent. (Isa 61:11)
Before World War II, most of the sentiment
of the people in Western Europe had moved toward internationalism. Communism
was making inroads in those countries as well as in the United States. The
majority of citizens in this country are deluded by the visionary proclamations
of the communistic concept; and every day the ideals of a welfare state become
more popular. In our reversionistic, mixed-up
society, an unrealistic attitude toward internationalism continues to prevail
which, if it persists, will ultimately lead to our doom.
And
he causes ALL, the small and the
great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given
a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell,
except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of
his name.
(Rev 13:16-17)
Why do we cling to these
anti-Biblical concepts?
Because the time has come for man to make the choice for or against Christ and
for or against Divine Thinking; Truth!
When a nation is on the skids, only the Word of Truth or a sudden,
overwhelming catastrophe will awaken its citizens. Sometimes the awakening
comes too late, as with the Carthaginians in the Third Punic War. By the time
they realized that Rome was intent on their annihilation, they had already
accomplished extensive disarmament, their defenses had fallen into disrepair
and their fate was sealed. In a last ditch effort, Carthage under siege held
for four years, but the Romans were victorious. The Carthaginians’ ivory-tower
attitudes rendered their defeat inevitable. The
majority in this country are filled with the same naiveté, so far removed from
GOD'S REALITY! That unless we get back to the
Divine Thinking of the Word of God, our land too
will be obliterated! There are only two ways to learn the Principles of
Divine establishment: the easy way — through the
Bible, or the hard way — through a national crisis!
ALTERNATE
LAWS TO ESTABLISHMENT
God has a series of Laws which go into effect when a nation rejects the
Laws of Divine establishment. These are Principles of judgment defined in the
five cycles of discipline, which result in national disaster and finally in the
destruction of the nation. (Lev 26:13-39)
Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts,
Behold, I will refine them and assay them; For what
else can I do, because of the daughter of My people? (Jer
9:7)
God causes the nations that disregard His Laws to go through the fire of
adversity. Whenever a majority of the people in a nation become so influenced
by evil that they depart completely from every Principle of establishment, not
to mention Christianity, then God puts that nation through the refining
process. (Isa 48:10)
Many national disasters perfectly illustrate the Principles of, (Amos 3:6; Jer
18:7-11). Under pressure, evil cannot
sustain; thus, during a catastrophe, the dross is burned off and the
nation is purified from corruption. The people turn
back to the Laws of Divine establishment, Christ and Truth — the survivors are thereby protected from
annihilation. (Rev 11:13) God cannot do otherwise
than to purge a nation when it reaches the point of national degeneracy and
moral disintegration. Those who are totally infected with evil are removed,
and the remnant of believers that survive are
protected. This is consistent with God’s character and His grace as well
as the best interests of the national entity!
REVOLUTION
AND ESTABLISHMENT
Throughout the course of the angelic
conflict, Satan launches major offensives against the Gospel, Doctrine, Divine
institutions and establishment.
(Against ALL Divine Thinking and Plans) In order to affirm his rule over his cosmic kingdom and to
superimpose his volition over Homo sapiens, he often resorts to the violent
overthrow of duly established authority in a nation. However, bear in
mind that while Satan has usurped the rulership of the world, he rules only by the permissive will of God; he can
do no more than God allows! (Job 2:1-10) Jesus Christ will always be in control of history! When events in human history get so out of hand that the
true issues in the angelic conflict are obscured or the survival of mankind is
threatened, God steps in to overrule and control.
As long as man shall live on this earth, God protects the function of
human volition. Free will must be operational for the angelic conflict to be
resolved and concluded. Were revolution allowed to become too widespread, man’s
volition would be left unprotected and completely throttled by Lawless violence
and anarchy. Consequently, revolutions may run their course only until they
begin to jeopardize God’s purpose for mankind in the resolution of the angelic
conflict. Since revolution involves the antagonism of evil against the system
of authority ordained by God to protect the human race, we must understand the
true Biblical Concept of evil.
Evil encompasses the entire policy and
thinking of Satan as the ruler of this world. Contrary to general opinion, sin is not the primary issue
in the Spiritual battle. The sin problem was settled once and for all at the
Cross and is resolved initially by personal Salvation and subsequently in
Spiritual growth and by rebound or by discipline for failure to rebound. (1Co 11:30-31) While
some sin is included in and overlaps evil at various points, the Concept of
evil is much broader in scope. Evil involves human old sin nature good, which
is the application of Satan’s policy to human experience. (Act 5:1-5) This satanic
plan includes every attempt to solve the problems of life apart from Christ and
Truth. It also incorporates every plan that is
antithetical to God’s Plan: religion, socialism, communism, political
internationalism “brotherly love,” altruism, humanitarianism, philanthropy,
public welfare, revolution, “the greatest good for the greatest number,”
governmental interference in Divine establishment, coercion by legislation; to
name a few! Any and every deviation from the Mind and Thinking of Christ,
(1Co 2:16) such
as reversionism, apostasy, legalism and or any organized “Christian program”
which attempts to sponsor Spiritual growth, apart
from the filling of God the Holy Spirit and the daily intake and Thinking with
Divine Thoughts: is evil! (Joh 4:23-24)
Satan’s policy was in the pristine Garden — in the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, which represented Satan's sin nature
and the cosmic system; when he took over as ruler of the world. The original man and woman partook of the forbidden tree,
and at that moment, Satan’s plan replaced God’s Plan. Under Satan’s rule, the first application of evil thinking in
human history, was an act of human old sin nature good — Operation Fig Leaves. (Gen
3:4-7) (If we are superficially and or
relatively right with each other; we will be justified before God)
As the plan and policy of Satan, evil is a
reaction against both Truth and the Laws of Divine establishment and is
therefore the false Concept behind all revolution. (Psa
64:4-5; Pro 17:11) When satanically sponsored liberal panaceas are escalated into
governmental tyranny then evil is in full bloom. By definition, revolution is a
radical, sudden change in political organization, constitution or governmental
structure; the overthrow, generally accomplished by violence, of duly
constituted authority. Without using the existing Laws of election or
succession, revolution overturns established government, tears down the
authority of establishment by means of violence and replaces it with another
power.
The evil motivation behind revolution can be
mental attitude sins, such as arrogance, jealousy, vindictiveness,
implacability; it can stem from the lust pattern of the old sin nature —
power or approbation lust; or it can be a sincere
desire to do “good.” Aristotle, the teacher of Alexander the Great, wrote
in his Politics: “Inferiors revolt in order that they may be equals, and
equals revolt that they may be superior.
Such is the state of mind which creates revolution!”
Since evil runs the gamut from religion,
legalism, liberalism, reversionism and apostasy to socialism, altruism,
reformation and public welfare, these demonic thoughts produce numerous
antithetical types of revolutionaries. A
revolutionist may be a power-mad dictator or a sweet, well-meaning clergyman; a
sincere visionary and reformer or a hard-core Bolshevik; a deprived, exploited,
downtrodden derelict of society or an ambitious, wealthy member of the
aristocracy. He might even be a reversionistic Christian attempting to improve
the devil’s world. Regardless of the particular
brand of evil the revolutionist advocates, he is an opponent of human freedom.
While revolution is often condoned on the basis of promoting a great and
noble cause, the
Word of God never justifies revolution! But
the Word of God always justifies fighting to protect freedom! (Esth 9:16) God demonstrated His attitude toward
revolution in, (Num 16:1-33). When the
BELIEVERS; Korah, Dathan and Abiram revolted against Moses’ authority (cf. Jude 1:11-13) God destroyed them in an
earthquake, and their followers were consumed by a plague of fire. Even though
the revolutionary cause is frequently led by sincere but naive do-gooders,
revolution is always anti-God, antiestablishment and can be traced to that
trend of evil which begins with some form of reversionism or apostasy.
Return to Him from whom you have deeply
defected, O sons of Israel. (Isa 31:6)
Whether in the believer or the unbeliever,
reversionism always seeks human solutions to the problems of life. These solutions may or
may not be related to the sins of the old sin nature, but they invariably
advocate the overthrow of establishment-type authority and establishment
values.
Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;
[Angelic conflict] For the LORD speaks, Sons I have reared and brought up, But
they have revolted against Me. An ox [Ignorance] knows its owner, And a donkey
[Arrogance]its master's manger, But Israel does not
know, My people do not understand. Alas, sinful nation, People weighed
down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who
act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of
Israel, They have turned away from Him. Where will you be stricken
again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole
heart is faint. (Isa 1:2-5)
When revolutionary ideology is
allowed to undermine establishment issues, national psychosis sets in.
The revolutionist has no regard for the Concept of duly constituted
authority. He cannot separate the Principle of authority from the individual or
individuals who exercise or possibly abuse that authority. Consequently, he
reacts by destroying both the leadership and the authority that leadership
represents. Irrespective of whether you agree or disagree with the person in
authority, and irrespective of how corrupt he may be, recognition of the Divine
order and the correction of abuses within the framework of that recognized
order are the only means of ultimately righting an injustice. (1Pe 2:13-23) This applies not just to
governmental function but to business, marriage, the military, the church and
many other areas of life. Church revolutions occur when the congregation
rejects the pastor’s authority and attempts to usurp his God-given prerogative.
(Heb 13:7-17)
Neither the French Revolution of 1789 nor the Russian Revolution of 1917
was justified. They were in utter opposition to God’s order. (Rom 13:1-7; 1Pe
2:13-14) In both cases, the revolution was evil, and the one
authority as well as the authority itself was destroyed. Whatever evil may have
existed under the Bourbon and Romanov dynasties, it was only replaced by a
worse evil. These two classic revolutions were the
result of overthrow of establishment authority by mob violence. The
anatomy of revolution is always the same. Although it may take many years
before the final eruption occurs, liberalism breeds
revolt in the minds of the people and prepares the ground in which the seeds of
revolution can be planted. Evil thinking
infiltrates every facet of life — economic,
educational, political, Spiritual — and
conditions the people for the overthrow of authority. Once the machinery of
revolution is set into motion, the radicals grow bold and, with the moral
decline of the people, begin to act like a mob. Violence becomes the
order of the day, as described by Edmund Burke, the great British statesman, in
Reflections on the French Revolution:
“In the groves of their academy, [The
French Revolution] at the end of every vista, you see nothing but the
gallows. Invariably, the liberals, who in confused idealism and stupidity
opened the floodgates to such catastrophes, are swept away with the innocent. All vestiges of the former governmental structure are
destroyed. Chaos ensues; and authority, freedom, privacy and property are wiped
out!
The question is often asked, “What about the American Revolution of
1775? Was it a revolution comparable to the French or Communist Revolutions?”
It was not! “Revolutionary War” is a misnomer. The term
“revolution,” in its true Biblical connotation, is always evil. Any
change brought about through establishment Principles, cannot technically be
classed as a revolution. Initially, there was a struggle on the part of the
colonists to gain representation in the English government. Denied this
representation, the effort grew into a “War for Independence” and became a
fight to retain freedom under the proper function of establishment rather than
an overthrow of government.
British subjects in America... were
then the freest people in the world, and in many respects more free than anyone
today. They argued and then fought, not to obtain freedom but to confirm the
freedom they already had or claimed! As
it would be today, if the current government turned into a tyranny; and began
the dismantling of freedom and establishment Principles!
In England, legislative power was vested in the lower House of
Parliament. The thirteen colonies were being taxed without being represented in
the House of Commons. Taxation is bona fide as a part of Divine Institution Number
Four; but taxation without representation is a violation of the Principles of
both Divine Institutions One and Four! This fact made the war a battle against
tyranny rather than a revolt against authority and resulted in the emergence of
a strong and vigorous pro-establishment nation.
Edmund Burke understood perfectly that the
American conflict with England was not a revolution but a justified demand for
representation.
Just as he vigorously opposed and condemned the French Revolution, so he continued
to support the cause of the colonists, and he stated this Principle before the
House of Commons in 1775 in his brilliant speech, “Conciliation with America.”
The Bible discloses that the source of
revolution is the heart or right lobe of the soul, which results from the
infiltration of false Biblical satanic thoughts.
Transgressing and denying the
LORD, And turning away from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.
(Isa 59:13)
But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; They have turned
aside and departed. (Jer 5:23)
Revolution, which is the result of a
breakdown of respect for the Laws of establishment, sweeps toward disaster a
collection of reversionists who are under the influence of evil. Every Concept
of Law and order and authority is obliterated in their right lobes prior to or
during their participation in revolution. Apostasy and reversionism neutralize the true function of
the frame of reference and its memory center; they eradicate the norms and
Standards in the conscience of the soul so that the Laws set up by God are no
longer a part of the vocabulary and categories of the right lobe, nor are they
retained on the “launching pad” for application to experience. (Heb 3:15) The Lawless mobs spawned by revolution can
neither think nor listen to reason. Revolutionists
seek to overturn the establishment in a grab for power, yet they totally lack a
sense of responsibility. Irrational and
emotional, mob action is the epitome of stupidity. While there may be
individuals in the mob who have a genius IQ, in the mob, mentality is
inevitably swept away by the lowest common denominator; blind emotion! Intimidation of delegated authority by mob violence destroys
the safeguards of freedom and results in anarchy, which can then be exploited
by evil men. Individual liberty is always wiped
out in revolution!
The Lawless seek to gain power through violence. The only way to halt
antiestablishment violence is by meeting it with a greater violence. In other
words, unjust violence must be suppressed by the strong arm of the Law! Unlike
the wanton destructiveness of the mob, the legitimate application of force
under establishment is controlled and orderly. Those in authority who have
honor, righteousness and integrity can utilize superior might without
corrupting the power involved. The nation’s internal use of legitimate violence
is embodied in the Law and is expressed to the maximum by capital punishment,
in order to curb the malignant violence of crime. Externally, military action
is the force of righteousness which purchases national freedom and crushes the
evil fury of the aggressor!
In general, there are several types of revolution: first, political,
such as the French and Russian Revolutions, which embodies the overthrow of
existing government; second, legalistic; exemplified by the Pharisees in the
time of Christ. Their distortion of the
Scriptures led to blatant opposition to the Person of Christ and to their
subsequent self-destruction. The Judaizers, too,
were in legalistic revolt against Truth; consequently, they resented the
teaching of Paul. A third type of revolution,
economic, is the overthrow of free enterprise in business. Governmental regulation and ownership of private industry
has created a crisis that has bankrupted England — spread to Australia and is on the verge of destroying our own
country’s prosperity. A fourth, social, occurs when there is reaction
against the accepted norms and Standards of an established culture. This
results in a radical, kaleidoscopic change in life-styles, fashions and
education.
Social revolution is evident everywhere in the
United States: the “new” American has emerged in gay marriage, socialism,
universal obamacare, internationalism and the suppression of Truth in every
form — patriotism has diminished; Law
enforcement faces constant opposition; and capital punishment, which has only
recently been reinstated, is an object of negative public opinion. Crime is on
the increase; pornography is prevalent; and the illicit and now semi-legal
traffic and use of narcotics and marijuana continue to thrive. This revolt against traditional Concepts in society is the
result of a mental revolution against
God. (Rom 1:19-26) Those who are involved in this type of rebellion are not only
vociferously antiestablishment, but they have defied the very Laws that have
given them the freedom to be defiant! They demand privilege without responsibility!
By rejecting the discipline and order of establishment, they have chosen the
path of self-destruction, chaos and national disaster. Not only will they
suffer personally from the consequences of human degeneracy and anarchy, (Rom 1:27-32) but so will others in their
periphery!
Freedom is like mercury: when you squeeze it, you lose it. Revolution
puts the squeeze on freedom. While our Constitution protects our personal
liberty, many people understand it only in the sense of being free to steal, to
rape, to kill or to do as they please,
irrespective of anyone else’s rights. In so doing, they not only violate the
rights of others, but they forfeit their own right to remain at liberty.
Nothing durable or worthwhile is ever achieved through revolution. Even in
governments where gross inequity and injustice exist, revolution can never
rectify the situation. The end does not justify the
means. One evil is only replaced by a greater
evil. The Anglo-Saxon heritage of the United States demands the
avoidance of evil force and violence as a means to solving problems. The only permanent solution for national as well as
individual wrongs is found in positive volition toward the Gospel, Bible Truth (Eze 2:3-10) and in
adherence to the Laws of DIVINE ESTABLISHMENT!
AUTHORITY IN ESTABLISHMENT
Authority is essential for every function
in life. Freedom
ceases to exist where authority is not exercised and respected. Hence,
as a safeguard for freedom, authority is not only an integral part but the very
basis of Divine establishment. By definition, authority is the legal power
delegated by God under the Laws of Divine establishment, whereby certain
members of the human race have jurisdiction over and responsibility for other
members of the human race. Authority is absolutely
necessary in any association of two or more people, either in settling disputes
or in determining policy. Someone must be responsible for making the final
decisions; someone’s judgment must prevail. Thus, authority is a critical
factor in creating a stabilized atmosphere of peace, justice and liberty.
The authority of the policeman on the corner and the judge on the bench
is ordained by God to protect the freedom of a nation by due process of Law:
apprehension, adjudication and punishment of those guilty of crime. The motto
of establishment is “Live and let live”; but
the criminal who has violated the rights, privacy and property of others, must
be incarcerated and or executed. Without restraint on
crime, chaos rules, and freedom is destroyed from within.
Even the individual’s capacity for life is
based on self-imposed authority over his own soul! Unless he can set up and enforce priorities in his life,
he will never mature or develop the capacities that accrue only to those who
possess self-discipline. Most of the problems
in life are the result of either lack of self-discipline or rejection of Divine
authority. (Psa
2:1-12)
Long before the creation of mankind, Lucifer, the most magnificent and
powerful of all the angels, revolted against God, the only Authority higher
than his own. (Isa 14:12-16) The
arrogance of this super-angel led to his rejection of Divine authority. He thus
perpetrated his own fall and initiated the angelic conflict. Authority again
became an issue when mankind was created as an extension of the angelic
conflict.
In the Garden, the woman lived under two Principles of authority — her right man, Adam, and her Bible Teacher, the Lord Jesus
Christ. She failed on both counts! Her lack of concentration in Bible
class resulted in rejection of Spiritual authority; thus, ignorant of Truth,
she was easily deceived into committing the first sin in human history. (1Ti 2:11-15) The woman also rejected the
temporal authority held by Adam, who was both her right man and the ruler of
the world. Adam failed as well. When he accepted the
forbidden fruit, he threw away his own authority and bowed to the dictates of
his wife! The result was the Fall of man, the takeover of the world by
Satan and the entrance of evil into the human race.
Those who do not respect authority are basically arrogant. In fact, the
criterion for arrogance, whether in angels or in men, is the lack of response
to authority. Arrogance is a heinous sin, the result of
evil thinking. (Pro 6:16-19) When arrogance is put under pressure, its counterparts rise
to the surface. These may be jealousy, cowardice or some other sin that
had always lurked behind the facade of pride. Under the influence of evil,
national arrogance in the United States has reached unprecedented proportions,
as demonstrated by its citizens’ almost total rejection of Divinely constituted
authority. The police officer is despised, judges are no longer respected; the
uniforms of our armed services are ridiculed. Criminals go unpunished, while
labor unions are permitted to practice extortion against the owners of
industry. Students riot on college campuses and demand rights totally
incompatible with the academic processes. Pastors are turned into “beanbags,”
husbands are not reverenced, and children do not respect the authority of their
parents. Because our very national existence depends on the reversal of this
trend, we have reached a stage in which the only
solution is the inculcation of the Mind of Christ! (1Co 2:16)
SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
The Authority of God
The ultimate authority, of course, is God.
His authority is expressed today through the Word of Truth — not through dreams, visions,
trances or miraculous Spiritual gifts. His will and His Plan are clearly
defined in Scripture. Respect for God’s sovereignty is learned in one of two
ways: directly, through Divine discipline; (Heb
12:9-11) or indirectly, through the pastor-teacher’s communication
of Truth, which results in blessing. Suffering and
Divine discipline are inevitable to the individual, as well as to the nation
which resists God’s authority and the Principles of establishment.
Authority is one of the most underrated Concepts in Theology. Every Principle
of Truth is related to authority; furthermore, all other authorities in life
stem from God’s Word.
Apostolic Authority
The unique authority of Jesus Christ is, of course, supreme; but the
apostles held the highest Spiritual authority ever given to human beings. (2Co 10:8) Paul, as the top-ranking apostle,
possessed the greatest authority and ruler-ship ever bestowed by God in the
Church. When he began an Epistle by announcing, “Paul, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he was stating his
rank. He was saying in effect, “Clear the decks for action — the admiral has
arrived!” And that is exactly what apostle means — “Admiral of the Fleet.”
However, the Spiritual gift of apostleship was existent only during the
formation of the New Testament Canon. In the pre-canon
period of the Church Age, (A.D. 30-96) it was
necessary for someone to possess, the authority of absolute dictatorship in
order to establish churches, to train pastors, to regulate Truth, to formulate
policy and to keep the churches Doctrinally straight, as well as to be used by
God the Holy Spirit to write Scripture.
The entire New Testament was written under apostolic authority, whether
by the apostles themselves or their close associates. For example, Peter
dictated the Gospel to Mark, while Luke, Paul’s co-worker, wrote the Gospel of
Luke and the Book of Acts. In A.D. 96, with the death of the Apostle John, the
gift of apostleship was permanently removed. There is
no basis for the claims of Romanism, which insists on the perpetuation of
apostolic authority. The function of apostleship is now replaced by the authority
of the written Word of God, and the “regimental colors’ have been passed to a
new Commander the pastor-teacher. (2Ti
4:1-2)
Authority in the Local Church
The Word of God authorized the autonomous
local church as the only place where Church Age believers can grow in the
knowledge of Truth to the point of Spiritual maturity. Denominations,
church councils and independent organizations outside the local church are
definitely not Biblically sanctioned and can never cause their members to grow
Spiritually. Within each local assembly, the authority is vested in one
pastor-teacher. He delegates authority to deacons and others in his
administrative system, but they have no jurisdiction over the congregation. (Act 6:1-7)
Fundamentalism is divided into many camps with regard to authority in
the local church. Some groups do not believe in a pastor at all, and some think
there should be a plurality of elders. (Multiplicity of pastors) Others believe
that authority should be vested in one or two boards or in some form of
hierarchy. But the Bible teaches that the final, human
authority in the local church is the pastor.
Remember those who led you, who spoke the
Word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their
faith. [Grow to Spiritual
maturity] (Heb 13:7)
Who has the rule over you? The deacons? No! The Scripture plainly states
that those “who have communicated to you
the Word of God” are the only ones who have authority over you. The only
one who falls into that category is the pastor-teacher, and he establishes his
authority by faithful Bible teaching. But, you say, “This verse just says to remember them.” Stand by for a shock! The
Principle is amplified in verse 17.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for
they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do
this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. (Heb
13:17)
You are Commanded to obey and to submit to the
authority of your pastor-teacher. Since every believer is a Royal
Priest, it is important to understand the structure of authority instituted by
God for the growth and progress of each member of the Royal Family of God.
First is overt authority, which includes the Word of God, the communicator of
the Word, (Pastor-teacher) and the administrative function of deacons. Second,
the inner authority is the exercise of the believer’s volition, as he assembles
for Bible teaching and maintains objectivity, even under the fire of rebuke by
the Word. The injunction of, (Heb 13:17)
brings together these two basic categories.
A sign of human maturity is the ability to
recognize bona fide authority and to respond objectively. Only
through affirmative response to Bible teaching, coupled with the filling of God
the Holy Spirit, can believers grow in grace and advance to Spiritual maturity.
The responsibility for the transfer of Truth from the Canon of Scripture to the
individual soul belongs to the pastor. But apart from strict academic
discipline in the classroom of the local church, and or computer; the pastor
cannot effectively communicate Truth with its variety of subjects. The key to learning Truth is cooperativeness to the properly
sanctioned authority. When conflicting personalities, preconceived thoughts and
or viewpoints interfere with the believer’s objectivity, self-discipline
becomes the cohesive factor.
The phrase, “for these same ones keep watching, [Must be alert] for the benefit of your souls,” and presents a further
reason why a pastor must have authority in his congregation. The word “pastor” means “shepherd.” He is the shepherd of his flock and is directly
accountable to Christ, the Chief Shepherd. (Heb
13:20; 1Pe 5:4) The pastor must
be alert to shield his sheep from bullying by others in the flock and to
protect their privacy and rights by removing those believers who are unruly,
who gossip, malign and intrude into the affairs of others in the Royal Family.
His authority, therefore, assures the privacy of believers and makes it
possible for them to learn Truth. He must also be on
guard to eliminate false Truth, or Christ will eject him from the “cockpit of
that local church. (2Ti 1:13-14;
Rev 2:5)
Because bona fide problems can and do exist in the local church — not
only because of ordinary pressures, but also as a consequence of the angelic
conflict — there must be a final authority, and it
must be based upon the Word of God. The Principle of authority must not
be confused with tyranny; the pastor has no license
to be a bully. He should be the epitome of
self-discipline, have an understanding of administration and the delegation of
authority and possess enough leadership ability not to abuse the tremendous
power invested in him by God through the gift of pastor-teacher. He must furthermore have
the Spiritual courage to make Decisions consistent with Truth.
The pastor’s authority, which extends only within the limits of his
local church, is designed to give him the right to administer Divine policies
and to communicate the Word of Truth. (1Th 2:13)
If he does not exercise this prerogative, he will find himself in the
indefensible position of being a doormat; he easily succumbs to the dictates of
the congregation, and anarchy and confusion reign!
TEMPORAL AUTHORITY
Authority in the Divine Institutions
Divine Institution Number One — Volition. As the authority within
each individual; free will is the basis for freedom and is therefore the very
center of Divine establishment. The proper regulation
of volition in the soul demands self-discipline.
Self-discipline is the consistent
self-determination and concentration on an objective and avoidance of any
distractions that hinder the accomplishment of that objective! (In our case; to reach
Spiritual maturity) All truly great people in life are self-disciplined.
Self-discipline is the foundation of integrity, honor and nobility as well as
all the attributes of character that enable a person to enjoy life to the
fullest.
General John Brown Gordon described the importance of the authority of
Divine Institution Number One, throughout the Laws of Divine establishment. He
tells the story of the Confederate troops facing the almost invincible Union
position on top of Malvern Hill. Yankee artillery was mercilessly pounding the
Southern lines, tearing great gaps through the ranks. It was a terrifying situation!
As the shells struck, their victims were literally blown apart! Hands, arms,
pieces of flesh would fly through the air and land among the soldiers. There
was noise, dust and death all around! In the midst of this carnage, a
panic-stricken rabbit suddenly jumped out of its hiding place and sprinted
furiously toward the rear, away from the gunfire. A mountaineer in the
Confederate ranks noted the rabbits speed and direction of flight and, raising
his voice so that it could be heard above the din of the battle, he shouted, “Go to it, Molly Cottontail! I’d be going with you if it
wasn’t for my character!”
General Gordon continued:
In this connection, I am reminded of the commonplace but important fact
that the combined character of a people of any country depends upon the
personal character of its individual citizens; and that the stability of the
popular government depends far more upon the character, the individual,
personal character of its people, than it does upon any Constitution that could
be adopted or statutes that could be enacted. What
would safeguards be worth if the character of the people did not sustain and
enforce them? The Constitution would be broken, the Laws defied; riot and
anarchy would destroy both; and with them the government itself. And of
all the countries on earth this one, with its universal suffrage, its divergent
and conflicting interests, its immense expanse of territory, and its large
population, made up from every class and race, and still to be increased in the
coming years, is far more dependent than any other upon the character of its
people.
A person who lacks self-discipline lacks capacity for life
and cannot fully enjoy any activity, no matter how pleasant. In fact, an
undisciplined person cannot even properly use his own freedom because the
exercise of freedom is itself a function of self-discipline. The greatest example of self-discipline in all of human
history is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
In the days of His
flesh, He offered up both prayers and
supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from
death, [Temporal
death; From getting out of fellowship] and He
was heard because of His piety. [Obedience in
fellowship] Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. [Thought, people,
organization and disaster testing] (Heb
5:7-8)
While the term “Son” seems to
imply some measure of inferiority, Jesus Christ has never been less than
coequal and coeternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. God the Father is
neither greater nor stronger, nor is He more wise than the Second Person of the
Trinity. Christ’s title as a Son expresses Lordship and establishment and
carries fantastic implications for mankind. As an
integral part of the Father’s Plan in the Divine Decrees, Jesus Christ set the
pattern for happiness and orientation to life through obedience to authority. (Heb 12:2-4)
Christ had great capacity to enjoy life and
freedom, yet His entire life during the Incarnation was one of self-discipline
and obedience to the Plan of the Father! (Heb
10:7) This same Principle is illustrated in a limited way by those
in military service. A nation cannot survive as a free people unless the
relatively small numbers of men who enter the service learn obedience under
pressure. They voluntarily relinquish their freedom
and submit to strict discipline and authority in order to function as a team
and to eventually become an effective fighting force. Just as they are
willing to endure great hardships, in training and in combat, so Jesus Christ,
with perfect happiness and strict adherence to the Father’s will, lived most of
His thirty-three years in “beast barracks,” culminated by His excruciating
judgment and Spiritual death — His sacrifice on the Cross!
The development of self-discipline began in
Jesus’ childhood through learning Truth, undergoing testing and in His
relationships with other people. Every temptation to sin was an issue of
self-discipline, for His objective was to reach the Cross in sinless
perfection. (2Ti 2:3-4) Had He succumbed to sin in even one
temptation, He would have acquired an old sin nature and become a sinner in the
same way that Adam became a sinner. But He accomplished His goal by completely
avoiding any kind of sin. He fulfilled His function
in the First Advent by yielding to the will of God the Father, even though He
was well aware of the terrible price He would have to pay.
Saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; [Spiritual
death and Judgment] yet not My will, but
Yours be done. (Luk 22:42)
Had He not learned absolute submission to authority, there would have
been no Salvation. If He had not been the most disciplined Person who ever
lived, He could not have gone to the Cross and offered Himself for our sins. Contrary to every impulse, every desire, every inclination
of His soul, He “set [His] face like a flint,” (Isa 50:4-10) “Humbled himself, and [Of
His Own volition] became obedient unto death,
even the [Spiritual] death of the cross.” (Php 2:8)
And having been made
perfect, [Reached
Spiritual maturity] He became to all those who
obey Him the source of eternal
Salvation. (Heb 5:9)
Obedience to the Cross on the part of Christ was the offering of Himself
as the High Priest; our obedience is to believe in
Him as Savior and trust His Word. Both the
High Priest and those who enter the Royal Priesthood have a prominent attribute
of obedience. Christ’s obedience was the
submission of His freewill and Divine power; by using the Spiritual life. When
God Commands obedience to the Cross from us, it involves our doing nothing in
the power of our old sin nature; but submission of our freewill and using the
Spiritual life. (Mar 8:35)
Since freedom is possible only through subjection
to authority, obedience to the Cross is the foundation of our priesthood which
assures us liberty. (Gal 5:1) By means of
continued discipline under the function of Operation Z, God brings the believer
to Spiritual maturity, where He can pour out maximum blessing. (Eph 3:20)
Respect for the authority of your own soul demands that you take the
responsibility for your own decisions, good or bad. For example, every believer
continues to possess an old sin nature as long as he lives. (1Jn 1:8) Depending on his level of Spiritual
maturity and other factors, he will commit various kinds of sins with varying
frequency; but whatever his sins may be, he commits them from his own free
will. (Jas 1:13-15) Even if he does not
realize that a certain activity is a sin, he still did it because he wanted to
do it! Volition is always involved in any sin that is
committed, and ignorance is never an excuse! The rebound technique
recognizes that there has been a transgression of God’s Law and that the work
of Christ on the Cross has already paid the penalty. (1Jn 1:7-9) If a believer fails to take the
responsibility for his own decisions and does not use rebound as required, God
steps in with retributive justice. (1Co 11:30-31)
In the same way, failure to regulate your own life under the Principle
of the daily intake of the Word of God, it will be answered by punitive action.
If you do not exercise self-discipline, God will impose His own discipline over
you! Divine chastening is designed to teach the
self-discipline essential for advance to Spiritual maturity. (Heb 12:5-14)
Divine Institution Number Two — Marriage. Even in the noble
relationships in life, there must be authority. In marriage, the man is the
head over the wife. (Eph 5:23) Taken
from the side of the man, the very origin of the woman places her in a position
of subordination to him. She will always be a part of the man; and even though
she may reject his lordship, her entire physiology, as well as the formation of
her soul, forces her to be in subjection, whether she likes it or not! When
Jesus Christ formed the woman from Adam’s rib and led her to the man, He
delegated man’s authority over her.
The LORD God fashioned into a woman the
rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said,
This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man. (Gen 2:22-23)
Adam is also called ISH. (Hebrew word for category Homo sapiens) Simply
add a feminine suffix, and you have the woman’s name ISHAH, to indicate that
she belonged to him. The Hebrew name ADAM, (Man) signified that he ruled the
woman as well as the human race. Then, in anticipation of life outside the
Garden, Adam became a prophet: “For this
reason a man ISH shall leave, [Hebrew verb AZAB] his father and his mother...”
(Gen 2:24) AZAB means that when the
children marry, they must leave the jurisdiction of the parents and establish
themselves as a separate entity. When a man and a woman unite, they are no
longer to be dependent on their parents; the man must assume the responsibility
for the woman soulishly, physically, mentally and Spiritually. Under Divine
Institution Number Two, the parents relinquish their authority over their
children; and from here on, the children must be allowed to make their own
decisions, right or wrong. The relationship between parents and offspring
shifts to rapport between adults.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is
fitting in the Lord. (Col 3:18)
“Subject” is a present middle
imperative of a military verb, HUPOTASSO, meaning “to be a private in the ranks under the authority of a Commanding
officer.” It carries
the connotation of subordination, which is the role of the woman in marriage.
She submits in the sense of voluntarily yielding her freedom in love. But
should that love not exist, it still means to submit to the authority of the
Divine institution. Regardless of whether the marriage is good or bad, the
Principle of delegated power in the marital relationship remains intact: the
husband is the ruler; the wife is subordinate. (1Pe
3:1)
This is a solemn fact, which should motivate every woman to think twice
before she agrees to be married. She should ask herself: “Do I want to submit to the authority of this man for the
rest of my life?” As soon as she answers affirmatively to one man, she
surrenders her life to his control. Of her own free will, she selects that man to be her company
Commander!
When a man walks away from the wedding ceremony with His bride on his
arm, he is in charge of someone, perhaps for the first time. Any man who takes
a wife to himself assumes a tremendous obligation, for with authority comes
responsibility! For the rest of his life, he must protect the soul of the woman
entrusted to him — not just her body — and make sure her soul thrives in love
and freedom. A marriage in which the man does not guard the soul of his wife
will never be a happy one. There is much more to marriage than intimacy! The
woman, in fact, lacks even the capacity for intimacy without the proper
obedience to the authority of the man. A woman, even more than a man, must
understand and appreciate authority, for from it stems her entire capacity for
life.
No matter how compatible a couple may be in all other areas, if she continually resists the authority of the man, she
will ultimately come to despise him. This is one of the main reasons why
marriages fall apart or exist merely as an armed truce, waiting for the
outbreak of hostilities.
The backbone of love is respect. Manliness, (Virtue) is a condition of
soul by which a man gains the esteem of his right woman. If the man fails to assert his proper authority, the woman
will usurp it; yet a woman never really admires a man she can control. She will not only dislike him, but she will also hate
herself and will react like a grenade with the pin out! Designed to be
under authority, a woman cannot be happy outside that sphere. In fact, the
Divine discipline connected with Divine Institution Number Two is misery and
unhappiness from failure to comply with the Divine order. Furthermore, a
society controlled by women breeds weak men and mediocre leadership in all
areas of life.
An immense appreciation for responsibility is necessary in order to
handle authority well. The man who has always bucked
authority in life cannot exercise authority himself, because he has never
developed self-control. He consequently has no capacity to love. One of
the first qualifications for being a good lover is self-discipline. If a man misuses his prerogative by lack of
self-discipline, he becomes a tyrant. Authority
linked with arrogance turns him into a monster! When he throws his
weight around and abuses a woman, he destroys the very thing he wants. But when he provides Spiritual strength, stability,
tenderness and concern to which she can respond — she willingly gives him her soul and body, then he
possesses something truly fantastic!
Divine Institution Number Three — Family. Parents, (Or parent, as
the case may be) are the authority in the family. (Eph
6:1; Col 3:20) Parents
existed before children, and for good reason! Parental authority is the basis
for stability in society from one generation to the next and provides the first
source of discipline in life. Once a child learns to obey his parents and comes
to understand the Principle of authority from them, he is then prepared to
respect other authorities in life.
A boy first learns the Concept of authority under the tutelage of his
mother. His consideration for her gives him the correct perspective so that
when he grows up, he will exercise his authority without abuse. As a man, he
will fulfill his right woman without violating his God-given prerogative. A
child who does not respect his mother is disoriented not only to authority but
to life in general. It is incumbent upon the father, as the head of the home,
to also train the young man to love and honor his mother, and never to allow
him to sass her. These qualities are neither instinctive nor inherent; they
must be inculcated. Had men been taught to treat women properly, there would be
no cause for such perversions as women’s liberation movements!
Parental authority is designed to overcome the temper tantrums, the
mental sins and the disobedience of children. When authority is exercised, it
will not always be pleasant for the recipient; in fact, it will sometimes be very painful and even resented. But
the ability to accept discipline under all conditions is the beginning of
success in life. (Heb 12:11) No person ever becomes truly-great without first having been
subservient to the dictates of another. This Principle applies to both believers
and unbelievers, for remember, the Laws of establishment are for the entire
human race. (Mat 8:9-10) To
revolt against authority always sets one back and destroys the possibility for
greatness. Consequently, it is imperative that the
issues of authority, freedom, respect for privacy, property and the rights of
others, regard for Law and order and the Principle of patriotism be taught in
every home. Parents must also guide the child into developing a capacity
for life. They must encourage his curiosity and captivate his naturally vivid
imagination with the Concepts of honor and integrity. The parents’
responsibility in teaching is critically important in view of the almost total
degeneracy of our public school system!
Christian parents have the added responsibility of evangelizing their
children and beginning Doctrinal instruction. (Deut
6:6-9; Deut 7:9) They must
also impart due respect for the content of Truth as communicated by the
pastor-teacher.
We should note at least one passage
defining the Doctrine of parental authority.
Children, be obedient to your parents in
all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. (Col
3:20)
“Children” (TEKNON in the
Greek) does not connote age but, rather, a child in training. Many young people
become rebellious in their teens toward the authority of their parents. While
this stems partly from the normal physiological development which is preparing
the child for eventual independence, neither the parents nor the children must
sidestep the exercise of authority. As long as a child is living under his
parents’ roof, he is subject to them.
Parents themselves often violate and undermine authority by gossiping or
maligning in the presence of their children. To belittle anyone in authority —
the pastor-teacher, the school teacher, the coach or the administrator — is to
destroy his influence. When a police officer one day brings little Johnny to
the door — caught red-handed — the parents too frequently counter with, “My little Johnny would never do anything like that!”
Yet he would, for his parents were remiss in teaching him respect for
authority!
The word “obey” is the present
active imperative of the compound verb HUPAKOUO, “to listen under the authority of,” and Commands both respect for
authority and concentration. The dative plural of indirect object of GONEUS,
(Parents) indicates that obedience is in the interest of the children, whether
or not they think it is unfair or
overly severe. Parents should be fair, but justice or injustice is not an issue
to be decided by the children. (1Pe 2:18)
The child derives his greatest benefit from learning to respect authority. He
does not profit from disobedience or revolt. The Lord
will ride herd on the parents who are unfair.
The most maladjusted monsters in our society today are the youngsters
whose parents shirked the responsibility of disciplinary training because they
fell for the progressive, liberal method of rearing their children. Deluded
into thinking that discipline would destroy their children’s personalities;
that their love must be won or they will not respond; the parents failed to
understand that children: have no capacity to love. The parents’ love is
expressed during the child’s minority time by demanding obedience and following
up with punishment for failure to comply with their Commands. (Heb 12:7-9) Discipline
develops respect for authority. If
parents do not make an issue out of obedience from their children, they cannot
train them! The
army recognizes this axiom-by teaching recruits to obey before they learn
anything else! Obedience precedes understanding!
It is therefore to the advantage of every child to be under authority
during his minority time. In fact, there is no
happiness in life apart from self-discipline and recognition of authority.
Young people, who have flaunted, resented or worked around their parents’ rule
during adolescence by being sneaky and dishonest, deny all other authority in
life and are unhappy children. In turn, they become miserable adults with
hang-ups and frustrations and are completely divorced from Divine Reality.
Parents have a tremendous responsibility, and the larger portion falls
upon the man as the final authority. Once there are children in the home, the
husband is promoted from “captain” to “colonel.” He now has an “army” under
him, and his obligations increase with his authority. Just as it is the duty of
a good officer to control and to direct his men, so the man’s job in the family
is to protect and to see that those under him are motivated to keep the home
running smoothly. He is accountable for disciplining the children and handling
the courts-martial as well as hustling up a living. Some of you young men had
better think twice before you are married. If you want to start an army and a
small war — then hop to it!
One of the worst mistakes parents can make is to use their children as
the basis for either their happiness or their unhappiness. This Principle must
be separated from their natural love and ambition for their children. After
proper discipline and training, each child must ultimately be allowed to
exercise his free will and go his own direction in life; but whether or not
this lines up with the parents’ desires cannot be allowed to destroy their
happiness. As with all believers, parents must derive their basic happiness
from their own inner resources of Truth, then from each other and or their
contemporaries. The mother who puts her children above her husband is one
hundred percent out of line! The same is true of the father who gives more
attention to his son or daughter than to his wife. When a child is given
priority in the home and everything revolves around a thoughtless, immature
little old sin nature person, leadership is destroyed and parents are reduced
to slavery!
Parents who have properly fulfilled their function can ease up on their
authority and allow free will to operate when the youngsters are in their
teens. By the time they are around eighteen, they should begin to think for
themselves and to make the most of their own decisions. If parents still find
it necessary to spank a child of fourteen or fifteen, they have done a sloppy
job between zero and thirteen! When the authority in the home breaks down and
the teenagers usurp control, the parents have been derelict in their duty. Not
only the parents but the children themselves will suffer. Furthermore, lack of
parental discipline is felt in the school, the church and every area of life!
Divine Institution Number Four — Nationalism. Authority in the
national entity resides in local, state and national government. Since everyone
has the right to pursue a course of action within the confines of the Law,
government must assure freedom and privacy to its entire constituency. This is
the only kind of “quality” that a government can ever provide. Among the
several forms of government, leadership is more clearly defined in a monarchy.
In a representative type of government, our national administration is vested
in three branches — executive, legislative and judicial. Leadership does not
exclude an individual from the Law.
The preponderance of power in our nation should rest with the government
of each state. “States rights” is a key to the bona fide use of authority in
government; under our Constitution. Yet today, because of the inordinate lust
for power, the Principle of states’ rights is being circumvented by an almost
unlimited federal government’s use of the taxpayer’s money as a means of
gaining political sway. Those who possess maximum authority are inevitably
faced with the temptation to misuse their power and are always in danger of
being overcome by power lust. To seize control without legitimate right,
whether by evil violence of revolution or by more insidious machinations, can
result only in tyranny and ultimate disaster! To grasp power without the
integrity, responsibility or proper authorization under Divine establishment
contributes to the decline of a nation.
There are many types of discipline and punitive action for failure to recognize
authority in the national entity. When Laws contrary to
the Principles of Divine establishment are passed, national leadership becomes
immoral. Such a nation is vulnerable to
socialism, internationalism and welfare systems; as well as to the discipline
that results from such degeneracy. In a national economy, certain Laws
cannot be denied or ignored without dire repercussions and penalties!
Every inhabitant of a nation — believer or unbeliever — is Commanded by
the Word of God to be obedient to the authority of that government.
Let every soul be in subjection to the
governing authorities. For there is no authority except by means of God, and
those which exist are established by God. (Rom 13:1)
This declaration of submission to authority within any given national
entity was penned during one of the most tyrannical and unjust reigns in the
history of the Roman Empire. While it does not condone the practices of the
Emperor Nero, it serves to strengthen the Principle of Divine establishment. (Tit 3:1) Regardless of the character of a ruler,
he represents the ultimate human authority in the nation he governs. King Saul
was reversionistic and out of line in seeking David’s life, yet David
recognized him as the Lord’s anointed and refused to give his men permission to
assassinate him. (1Sa 24:6) Rulers are
responsible to God, and He will promote them or remove them according to His purpose
and time. Assassination or the overthrow of government
by force constitutes evil violence and is utterly contrary to Divine Law.
Problems that require establishment solutions can never be solved by the
violation of those Laws.
Therefore, he who resists authority has
opposed the ordinance of God; [Laws of Divine establishment] and they who have
opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. (Rom
13:2)
There must be a system of orderliness if mankind is to survive. God has
ordained national sovereignty to preserve a group or state from anarchy and
self-destruction. Socialism, internationalism and revolution pervert legitimate
authority and are in total opposition to Divine establishment. All such
distortions of Divine Principles will be judged and removed by God before they
reach the point of eradicating the human race. (Rev
18:8)
For rulers are not a cause of fear for
good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what
is good [Obedience to the Laws of establishment] and you will have praise from
the same. (Rom 13:3)
Rulers are those who hold delegated authority in any echelon of
government The Law-abiding citizen who adheres to the Laws of establishment has
no cause for fear from its magistrates. Potential violators of the Law must be
restrained by the fear of just retribution from duly constituted authority.
Either the authority will administer punishment or these violators will be
disciplined by the natural consequences of rejection of that authority!
For it [Authority of the ruler] is a
minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, [Violate the Law]
be afraid; for it does not bear the sword [Capital punishment] for nothing. For
it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices
evil. [Criminals]
(Rom 13:4)
Under Divine Institution Number Four, the leaders or authorities of the
state are ministers of God, appointed to judge and execute the criminal. The
government cannot properly fulfill its function in keeping Law and order
without the enforcement of capital punishment. There is always a large segment
of people in every country and in every generation who are devoid of character
and whose lack of honor and integrity render them negative toward the Laws of
Divine establishment
From the combined operation of their own volition and their old sin
nature, they may decide to enter a life of crime. In pursuing such a course,
they will inevitably use Lawless violence; thus, the only supremacy they will
respect is a greater violence than their own. These types must be restrained by
the Lawful violence of establishment, just as a strong military discourages or
defeats the evil violence of an enemy who seeks to rob a nation of its freedom.
Since murder deprives another of his life and liberty, the murderer must be
punished by legal violence.
The reluctance of the courts in the United States to exercise the
deterrent of capital punishment is a terrible tragedy. Crime increases in
direct proportion to the decline of punishment of capital crimes. This
situation was dramatized recently when the Supreme Court reinstated the highly
restricted use of capital punishment. When a nation is under the influence of
religion and or unrealistic liberalism, authority breaks down and strong
punitive measures against proven criminals are condemned as inhumane and cruel.
All but ignored is the victim who has been deprived of his right to live!
Capital punishment has never been rescinded in the Word of God! Established
by God as the need arose in the Dispensation of the Gentiles, (Gen 9:5-6) it was reiterated in the Jewish Age,
(Lev 24:17) again in the Church Age, (Rom 13:4) and will be enforced by the Lord
Himself in the Millennium. (Isa 11:4)
The intent behind God’s pronouncement of the death penalty for murder is to
preserve human lives. Nothing deters the would-be murderer more effectively
than the knowledge of certain execution if convicted. However, capital
punishment is not a matter of personal revenge. No citizen has the right to
take the Law into his own hands. The execution of capital punishment must be
discharged by duly elected and properly appointed authorities within the
framework of the establishment. That is why we have police officers, courts,
judges and juries!
Therefore it is necessary to be in
subjection, [To authority] not only because of wrath, [Punishment] but also for
conscience' sake.
(Rom 13:5)
Whereas fear of retribution helps to restrain
crime, the believer should be motivated to avoid criminal activity by the norms
and Standards from Truth in his soul.
For because of this, you also pay taxes,
for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. (Rom
13:6)
In accordance with the Divine Principle of nationalism, all citizens are
obligated to pay taxes. Abuse by unfair and burdensome taxes does not negate
this Precept. Leaders of government and those who provide services of
government must be paid by a structure of taxation, just as in an ancient
Israel the priests and Levites were maintained by the Jewish system of taxation
or tithes.
Render to all what is due them: tax to
whom tax is due; custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. (Rom
13:7)
The Principle of responsibility to one’s nation includes payment of
taxes, obedience to its Laws and fulfillment of civic duties, such as jury duty
and participation in the defense of the country. It also implies separation of
church and state. This issue was defined when the Herodians, Sadducees and
Pharisees united in an attempt to trap and discredit the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Tell us therefore,” they said, “is it Lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or
not?” (Mat 22:17) If Jesus answered in
the negative, He would be branded as a revolutionist and executed; if He
answered in the affirmative, He would be denying the authority of the Divine
Institution of Nationalism.
Jesus was neither deceived nor even
remotely distracted by their hypocrisy. (Mat 22:18) “Show me
the tribute money,” He ordered. When they handed Him a denarius, He asked,
“Whose is this image and superscription?” (Mat
22:20) Thinking they had trapped Him, they answered triumphantly,
“Caesar’s!” (Mat 22:21) Then came the
brilliant statement which completely confounded His hecklers and at the same
time confirmed the Divine Precept of a combined responsibility to — and separation of church and state. “Render therefore unto Caesar the things
which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s!” (Mat 22:21)
Jesus enucleated the Divine Principle that two kingdoms exist on earth —
a Spiritual kingdom of believers and the national entity, (Apart from Satan's
that ALL people are born into) composed of believers and unbelievers. Both kingdoms
have a place and should not be in conflict. They are
to be coordinated but never combined!
The state must not penalize anyone for rejecting or accepting Christ nor coerce
anyone into believing in or renouncing Him. A personal relationship with God, or lack
of it, should be a matter of privacy and personal choice, and the state must
maintain separation between church and state in order to safeguard the freedom
and rights of its citizens.
Until recent times, ecclesiastical and governmental autonomy have been
preserved in our country. However, the National Council of Churches, an evil
and anti-Biblical organization, which has become a powerful political lobby in
the last thirty or forty years, has exerted phenomenal influence in every
sphere of our government and has broken down the barriers. What was formerly a
radical statement from the liberal pulpit is now the policy of our
administration!
The church supports good government by teaching
the Principles of Divine establishment found in the Word of God; but it must
never become that government! God
has separated the two in order to protect the world from demonism and or
religion. One notable
improvement that America instituted in contrast to the mother country and which
has resulted in blessing for our nation was the separation of church and state.
England used the taxpayers’ money to finance the
Church of England, and this abuse became the source of many of her woes.
A state church always breeds trouble, and in the present dispensation is
always, without exception, satanic and anti-God. Under union of church and
state, the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ is always attacked. Wherever religion is in control, there is aggression,
torture, abuse, enslavement and evil violence, as vividly illustrated by the
Spanish Inquisition in the fifteenth century.
General Authorities
Authority in Academics. There are two basic authorities in the
academic realm: the administration and the faculty. The principal, president or
superintendent is responsible to set up a system of administrative policy and
to supervise its execution. Anyone who enrolls in a school or in any academic
organization must accept its policy and administration. The student is also
obligated to respect the authority in the classroom — the teacher or professor
— by concentrating on the information presented and exhibiting poise and good
manners, regardless of whether he agrees or disagrees with the subject matter. In short, the student’s rights and privileges are limited to
learning!
The two most detrimental factors in academics today are lack of
discipline and the poor use of authority, manifested by total permissiveness in
allowing students to express their views. As a result, they are full of
opinions but devoid of a correct scale of values. Knowledge is acquired by
concentration, not by slating opinions or demanding rights, and this
concentration requires discipline and respect for authority.
The school administration should be able to prescribe standards of conduct,
grooming or dress, as they deem advisable. Yet, in the majority of schools
today, administrators and teachers no longer possess this prerogative. Students
and even parents have so undermined the Principle of authority in education
that objectivity has virtually disappeared. Parents, above all, should support
both administration and faculty. If they do not approve of the school code,
they should place their children elsewhere. When a college student cannot obey
the authority in a school, his only alternative is to leave. He has no right to
heckle or to disrupt a class in any way and deprive others of the liberty to
teach or to learn.
If our educational system is to function properly, teachers and
administrators must have authority, and there is no authority apart from
discipline. The seeds of revolution are sown when a generation lacks parental
discipline and goes through the academic system without regard for authority!
Authority in Athletics. For good team work, as well as the
building of character, authority is essential in athletics. The coach or
manager is the final authority — not
the parents, team members or sentimental spectators! The coach should be
entitled to remove boys from the team, establish strict codes of dress, or any
other rule he considers necessary for the function of the team; and he should
be backed to the hilt by the school administration, parents and students! If a
coach sets up a policy that the boy who works is the boy who plays, he must be
allowed to enforce it by benching a player who may have superb ability but
lacks self-discipline. To permit an unruly or arrogant person to play simply in
order to win or to further the coach’s career, could (And often does) have
disastrous effects on that individual.
The woods are filled with athletic bums who were not benched when they
should have been! It takes courage to override objections from parents or
school administrators and to bump a player with superior ability in order to
achieve the greater goal. When a coach can exercise
his authority objectively and a team member can learn to accept the regimen,
both are richly rewarded!
Authority in the Military. Freedom through military victory is
based on authority in the military organization. Delegated power is well
established; rank is defined, and the superior officer or noncommissioned
officer is the authority. The right of Command is absolutely essential in the
successful function of the military. When
an order is issued, it must be executed without hesitation! In wartime,
lives depend on unflinching obedience. If a man in uniform can refuse to comply
with any order he does not like, then authority breaks down, and there is
confusion, loss of life, and ultimately, national freedom is forfeited.
Participation in military
action and or the Spiritual life, demands the surrender of liberty in order to
gain liberty!
That means that in military service it is necessary
to relinquish certain personal rights and privileges and to submit to the
discipline and authority essential in the training of soldiers. (2Ti 2:3-4) A well-trained professional army, in
turn, will preserve these rights and freedoms through dominance on the
battlefield.
Military defeat, however, means enslavement to a foreign power. You may
or may not live to see our country invaded and destroyed by its enemies. You
may starve to death first or die of disease! But
when you yell, “God help!” just remember that God has been trying to help you
for years, but you have been in His way! You have failed to take in
Truth or to recognize the authority of your pastor-teacher as well as all other
authorities in life. Truth in the souls of mature
believers is the preservative of a nation under the Principle; that Jesus
Christ controls history!
Authority in Business.
Authority in an industrial economy is called “management”; those who work under
management are termed “labor.” The executive, the boss, the foreman, the
supervisor, or whoever is in charge, has the right to determine policy and set
the requirements of a particular job. If, in the boss’ opinion, the job calls
for a white shirt, a black tie and a crew cut, the employee is-obligated to
comply. (Eph 6:5-6; Col 3:22) Should he refuse, the management is
within its right to fire him! Tragically, the apostasy abroad today has
obscured the Principles of authority in business, as in every other area. Labor
and labor unions are formulating policy, dictating to management and usurping
power. Yet, under Divine establishment, labor is entitled only to do its job
and to function according to the procedure set up by management. If an employee
does not agree with company policy or working conditions, he has only one right
— to find another job compatible with his standards. This is not a harsh Concept,
for a responsible employer understands that a definite part of his obligation
as the authority; is consideration for his workers. (Col 4:1)
Apart from the proper exercise of authority, a business cannot operate
efficiently. Imagine what would happen if people arrived at work when they felt
like it and did what they wanted on the job instead of what they were told!
There would be chaos!
Anyone who owns capital and invests money in a business venture has the
prerogative of prescribing overall policy and, in keeping with the Law of free
enterprise; neither the government nor any employee is authorized to override
that structure. Capital — not labor — creates business! When power-mad labor
gets out of line, free enterprise is paralyzed, and prosperity is pulled out
from under the nation. Respect for authority is accompanying with success and
prosperity. The economy of any nation depends on authority in business as well
as in government, military, education, marriage and the family. Obedience to authority is a
maxim no one can evade in life and have blessing!
In our country, we have lost all Concept of our national destiny, either
as it relates to other nations or, above all, as it relates to the Trinity. We are represented by men in high places who succumb to
every type of weakness and cowardice in their attempts to placate the entire
national and world religious groups. Never have we had so many traitors
in government to lead us down the road of reversionism and catastrophe! We have
betrayed countless millions of people to communism by our immoral foreign
policy. The thinking of our general populace is even more in harmony with
communist ideology than the typical Russian attitude today! The Soviets are now
looking for some form of capitalism to bail them out of their economic
predicament and perpetuate the communist facade, while we are in the process of
destroying the most perfect system of capitalism since the Roman Empire!
Never in history has there been a more difficult time to be engaged in
business activity than at the present. The most attacked minority in the world
is management. When the federal government enacts Laws that stifle ability and
genius in business, when governmental agencies dictate to management and when
the labor unions have a stranglehold on national industry, it is virtually
impossible to maintain a country’s greatness and prosperity. A person who wants
to work should have that right, whether he carries a union card or not. That’s
the American way! If some labor group does not want to work fine. Move them on
out, and hire new employees who do want to work! They should have the freedom
to work at a lower wage, if they so desire. Texas is one of the most phenomenal
states in the country for good right-to-work Laws. Thank God for freedom in
Texas!
A definite part of the Plan of God for members of His Royal Family is to
represent Him in the business world, whether they are in the category of
management or labor. (Eph 6:5-9; 1Ti 6:1-19) Regardless
of how menial may be his position or how important, the believer is in
full-time Christian service as he functions in his occupation.
Therefore, he should do his job as onto the Lord not to please men, but with
the same vigor, enthusiasm and concentration as he would for any phase of
Christian service. (Col 3:22; thru; Col 4:1)
The Principle of enterprise, in which a person utilizes his abilities
and skills to earn a profit, may appear contrary to the Principle of grace, in
which no one ever earns or deserves favor or blessing from God. In Reality,
however, both represent the same Concept: adjustment to justice. For example,
if a businessman correctly adjusts to the reality of the marketplace, it is
absolutely fair and just that he reap a profit for his courage, good judgment and
hard work. Likewise, the blessings of grace come to members of the human race
only because of justice. In grace, however, the work is never accomplished by
human effort; it is performed entirely by God: the price of Salvation demanded
by God’s perfect justice has been paid in full by the Spiritual death and
judgment of Christ on the Cross.
Although we can do none of the work, we
must nevertheless adjust to the justice of God by non-meritorious faith in the
One Who did earn our Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. When we
are adjusted to God’s justice, He is absolutely fair in blessing us! Thus the
attribute of God’s essence that demanded a penalty for sin in the first place,
now becomes the security and guarantee of eternal blessing for the believer! Furthermore,
blessings in
time accrue to the believer who continues to adjust to God’s justice.
But just as the faith that claims Salvation is non-meritorious, so also the
adjustment to justice in Phase Two involves no human work or achievement but is
accomplished by the intake of Truth through the grace apparatus for perception,
(Operation Z) and the application of that Truth in the filling of the Holy
Spirit.
In business, a person must work to produce and to receive a profit. The government welfare system is one of the satanic attempts
to reproduce the perfect conditions of the Millennium. It will never succeed because the old sin nature resident in
every individual prevents any possibility of happiness apart from working for a
living. The soul and body fall apart under
inactivity!
Admittedly, the business world today is an extremely vicious type of
combat: cutthroat competition, dishonest practices and lack of integrity all
combine to test the believer to the maximum. But to
bad-mouth, complain or cheat on management is Spiritually self-destructive. Bad
management or poor policy is no excuse for rejecting authority. (1Ti 6:1-2) God has a
Plan for the Spiritually mature believer in the business world; to be blessed,
regardless of the pressures and adversities. In
His grace, He has found a way to promote, to prosper and to assure success for
the Christian with Truth in his soul!
Unless the believer in business is fortified with Truth, he will succumb
to the pressures, and his Spiritual life will be neutralized by evil or
reversionism. Management and labor alike are blessed by the same Principle — the assimilation of Truth via the daily exercise of
Operation Z and the advance through the various stages of Spiritual maturity,
where Divine blessings imputed to them glorify God to the maximum!
THE RIGHT AND WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY
We have noted that Jesus Christ controls history in three ways:
directly, by His sovereign intervention; indirectly, when mankind follows the
Divinely ordained Laws of establishment; and permissively, when God allows
negative volition and evil to run their course as part of the angelic conflict.
God’s purpose for the Church Age is to form a Royal
Family for Jesus Christ and to enable the members of the Royal Family to
glorify Christ on earth. (Eph 1:1-6)
We have seen that the purpose for Divine
establishment is to protect human freedom for both believers and unbelievers. In fact, all freedom is
designed so that without hindrance or coercion man might hear the Gospel,
respond with faith in Christ and advance to Spiritual maturity by the intake of
Truth! Historically, there must be certain
circumstances whereby positive volition can express itself in the consistent
function of Operation Z. Various periods of history have provided these
conditions to a maximum degree, such as the Roman Empire during the reign of
the Antonine Caesars, England during the Victorian Period, and our own country
during the last century through World War II. Where
there is obedience to the Laws of establishment and human authority, there is
freedom; where freedom exists, believers can take in Truth under the ministry
of a pastor-teacher, grow Spiritually and advance toward the objectives of
Spiritual adulthood, Spiritual maturity, dying grace and finally, the PCS, (Permanent change of station) to the surpassing grace of eternity.
Under the Principle that Jesus Christ controls history, the criterion by
which a nation is preserved or destroyed is the attitude of the nation’s
believers toward Truth. This is the point at which the angelic conflict relates
to the events of history. The believer with Truth resident in his soul not only
receives great personal blessings but, like salt in the ancient world, he has a
preserving effect on his nation. (Mat 5:13)
The special blessings of maturity include Spiritual
and temporal blessings, blessing by association, historical impact and
eventually, dying blessing. A mature believer
radiates blessing to those in his own periphery as well as to his entire
nation; and like a Spiritual Atlas, he supports his generation in history!
From God’s point of view, there are two sides of history: the right side
and the wrong side! Those who are on the right side of history live in
accordance with God’s Plan and design for the human race, while those on the
wrong side are disoriented to grace and set aside the Divine Plan. On the right side, there is the proper use of Divine
Thinking; on the wrong side, slavery to the
satanic system of human sin nature good and Satan's thinking. Every unbeliever,
even though he might be strongly establishment-oriented, is still on the wrong
side of history, simply because he rejects the One who controls history. On the
other hand, a believer is not automatically on the right side. Believers must link up with the Plan of God through the
assimilation of the Mind of Christ; and then constantly Think with IT! Those who fail to fulfill this obligation cheat themselves of
happiness and contribute to the destruction of their nation!
In the second chapter of First
Timothy, Paul issued a gracious Command for prayer for Divine establishment as
the basis for freedom.
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties
and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for
kings and all who are in authority, so that we may
lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness [Spiritual maturity] and dignity. This
is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. (1Ti
2:1-3)
The right side of history is summarized in
Scripture by the word “godliness,”
(EUSEBEIA, meaning “as God would have it.” and a closely related
word; THEOSEBEIA) meaning “duty toward God.” Both are synonyms for
Spiritual maturity and or the fulfillment of our responsibility to achieve
advanced Spiritual growth. They actually express the
technical Concept of the balance of residency in the soul between the filling
of God the Holy Spirit and maximum Truth, which characterizes Experiential
Sanctification. (1Pe 1:22)
Establishment and human authority are essential for accomplishing Spiritual
maturity. On the surface, freedom and authority may seem to be in conflict; but
in Reality, they support each other on the right side of history. Authority without freewill is tyranny; freewill without
authority is anarchy. Freedom cannot exist without authority; authority and
discipline are the basis for the continuation of freedom. Freewill under the voluntary submission to Divine
authority is FREEDOM AND OR LIBERTY.
All Spiritual blessing, from Salvation to
Spiritual maturity to dying grace — are based on the individuals'
freedom; that makes it possible for a person to hear the Gospel, respond by
faith in Christ and advance to Spiritual maturity. Hence, the importance
of intercessory prayer for those in authority under the Laws of establishment.
Some of us, as members of the Royal Family of God, have failed to fully utilize
our Spiritual weapon of prayer as part of our support for authority and
establishment!
Those on the wrong side of history, fall under the satanic policy to
distort godliness; by reversionism and evil. Satan, as
the ruler of this world, has adherents from among every race, class and
intellectual stratum of people. As the
master-counterfeiter, he has a pseudo Spiritual maturity system, in which he
furnishes his own temporal blessings and rewards of wealth, success, promotion
and leadership dynamics, custom-tailored to each of those who serve him and
carry out his policy of human sin nature good and immoral degeneracy — EVIL: SATAN'S THINKING.
To promote his objectives, Satan must enlist numerous
apostles and evangelists of evil who will affect an outward facade of godliness
in order to establish a rapport with positive believers.
Holding to a form of godliness, [Moral and
immoral degeneracy] although they have denied its power; [The filling of God the Holy Spirit and the Mind of Christ]
Avoid such men as these. (2Ti
3:5)
Covered with the veneer of morality, piety
and sweetness, these religious con artists often cannot be distinguished from
the genuine in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit believers, and many
Christians are seduced by their hypocritical personality and charming manner. Satan’s
system of evil and its application of human sin nature good invariably exclude,
ignore and or reject the filling of God the Holy Spirit and Truth — the Mind of Christ ruling
in our Thinking and actions! (Joh 4:23-24;
Col 3:15-17) His
objective is not only to lead people down a pernicious path of immoral
degeneracy but to promote brotherly love, human kindness and good works, by the
energy of the old sin nature!
But realize this, that in the last days
difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money,
boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal,
haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied
its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into
households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various
impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth.
[To reach Spiritual maturity] (2Ti 3:1-7)
There are three types of good in history. First, human old sin
nature good, this is the application and expression of Satan’s ruler-ship and
policy of evil. The devil’s policy includes evil thinking as well as human old
sin nature good, both of which manifest his craftiness. Second, “moral good” is
man’s exercise of and obedience to the Laws of Divine establishment. Finally, Divine good — Virtue, is the
production of the Spiritually mature believer under the filling of God the Holy
Spirit. (Mat 12:12; Mat 13:8; Rom 12:2) God the Holy Spirit and
Truth are the source of Divine good — Spiritual Virtue! (2Pe 1:2-4) while
observance of the Laws of Divine establishment produces “moral good” — and Divine good in fellowship. (Mat 8:9-10) Human old
sin nature good is in opposition to both! It is accumulated by people, (Believers and unbelievers) on the wrong side of
history that are functioning under carnality and or reversionism from the power
of old sin nature. (Rom 7:18-21; Rom 8:7-8)
Every characteristic mentioned in, (2Ti
3:1-5) represents reversionists, who uniformly display dishonest,
unfaithful, treasonable, dishonorable attitudes toward authority. They are
disloyal to the Lord by rejection of Truth and to the local church through
repudiation of the pastor’s authority, under the influence of reversionism and
evil, they become the servants of Satan and are guilty of treachery in the
angelic conflict. In essence, they are also traitors to their country — without
patriotism or loyalty. While subscribing to the policy
of Satan, they can never reach Spiritual maturity or become the salt or
preservative of the nation! Disloyal and unfaithful to friends,
employers or right man or right woman, these types eventually betray all human
relationships. Unreliable, undependable and unstable, traitors of any
description are on the wrong side of history. Learn to spot them and
disassociate yourself from them, or you will join
them!
When a believer takes a nose dive into
reversionism and falls under the influence of evil, he inevitably phases out
Truth and substitutes human old sin nature good; and the devil has snared him
again. (2Ti
2:26) That Satan has achieved his goals to a
record-breaking degree; is evident today in those forms of evil known as
religion, liberalism and internationalism, all of which are on the wrong side
of history. Religion and or demonism, in fact, is the devil’s ace trump! Notice, I did not say “Christianity.” Christianity is a
relationship with Jesus Christ through God the Holy Spirit and His Word;
religion and or demonism is a relationship with Satan
through the old sin nature! Since religion is a
system whereby man by his own efforts and merits attempts to gain Salvation,
Spirituality or the approbation of God, it is always a form of reversionism and
evil and invariably includes some type of legalism.
Religion and or demonism, as Satan’s answer to Spiritual
growth, is therefore his counterfeit of the Spiritual life. It epitomizes his system of evil and is the most detrimental
influence in our society today! Yet as long as the devil is the ruler of
this world, his false thinking will continue to exist; and while we cannot
abolish it, if we recognize its evil and do not allow it to affect national
policy and function, it can be neutralized to some extent. The ultimate
solution to what is false, of course, is the dissemination of Truth so that the
Laws of establishment can operate under the Principle of authority.
Any believer on the right side of history
is a Spiritual Atlas holding up his generation. As goes the Spiritually mature
believer, so goes that generation! There have been some Spiritual heroes who have not only
held up one generation but have been a stabilizing rod for all posterity. In
the Divine Record, the two outstanding examples are Moses and Paul. As the leader of the Jewish nation, Moses wore the mantle
of continuous pressure for forty years; yet he possessed fantastic happiness
and blessing during that time. While the Apostle Paul was totally surrounded
with the cloak of opposition for only six years, no other believer exerted a
more profound impact on history nor enjoyed correspondingly increased happiness
right up to dying grace and his transfer into Phase Three!
All believers are subject to satanic attack;
but if they advance to Spiritual maturity the pressure intensifies and becomes
round-the-clock opposition. These “attacks”
from Satan are the highest honor God can bestow on any believer in time.
Those individuals whom Satan uses to harass believers become history’s trash
cans, discredited or forgotten, even though they may be phenomenal geniuses
who, under demon influence or demon possession, have had a brief impact on
history. Two such apostles of evil whom Satan brought to the forefront of
history to oppose Moses were Jannes and Jambres. (Exod
7:11; 2Ti 3:8) In Paul’s
generation, Phygellus and Hermogenes were among Satan’s most effective
servants, raised up to attack the ministry of the apostle. (2Ti 1:15) It is true, even among believers that
those on the wrong side of history are always in conflict with those on the
right side. Reversionistic believers are often the
most vigorous antagonists to growing and or Spiritually mature believers!
Two ultra-establishment unbelievers, Gains Julius
Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte, became stabilizing rods in history through the
application of establishment Principles. Similar in many respects, both men possessed the ability to
relate their multi-genius to history and therefore correctly interpret the
events of their contemporary eras. Both reshaped the course of history, and we
are indebted to them for creating numerous vehicles for the promotion and
success of establishment Principles. Both were subjected to continuous
satanically inspired attack during their lifetime. Even with their passing from
the scene, these assaults against them have not abated. Yet, with all their
genius, they died tragically on the wrong side of history because, (It appears)
they rejected Christ as Savior and failed to link up with the Truth that Jesus
Christ controls history.
But realize this, that in the last
days difficult times will come. (2Ti 3:1)
Every dispensation or nation
terminates with extraordinary apostasy, characterized by concentrated
reversionism and influence of evil. “Difficult times” are the result of
either the fifth cycle of discipline to a nation, (Through military defeat) or
a satanic counterattack at the close of the dispensation which results in the
overwhelming influence of evil. Sooner or later,
believers, who because of a lack of Truth are not capable of interpreting
contemporary history in relation to the angelic conflict, will react to some
event or disaster and be swept into the various stages of reversionism. Many failures of the believer are linked to the fact that he
cannot cope with historical DIVINE REALITY, which
can be understood only in the light of Scripture. (2Pe 1:20-21)
Even worse for the unbeliever on the wrong side of history is the
judgment after death and eternity in the Lake of Fire. (Rev 20:15) Only the
Spiritually mature believer can avoid reaction to contemporary history and a
tragic end. The believer on the right side of
history, who possesses in his soul those pertinent Thoughts which correctly
interpret history, dies gloriously, has a true impact in time, and leaves
behind blessing for family, friends and nation!
THE CORRECT INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY
Why the Wicked Prosper
When we view the world today, we might ask ourselves several questions.
Why does Jesus Christ permit the Soviet Union, one of the most evil empires in
history, to continue to exist and even to appear to prosper? Why is communist
China allowed to survive for another day? And even little upstart communist
Cuba? Why does the Lord hold back from wiping these arrogant blights off the
face of the earth? There are more people enslaved today than at any other time
in history, and satanic policies are making greater inroads worldwide than ever
before. In the face of all this staggering evil, why is the United States under
the gun of Divine discipline?
We are being warned from three sources. First, history warns us with the
shocking fact that we have lost two major wars to the communists in the past
twenty-five years. During this time, we have declined to an all-time low in our
military preparedness, while the Soviets, for example, have steadily advanced.
The USSR now possesses the most well developed military machine since the days
of Rome, or, before that, the invincible Assyrian Army. Second, the Laws of
Divine establishment, which was designed to provide freedom and prosperity,
also issue a warning. As we see the disintegration of establishment in the
United States, it is a glaring signal that something is wrong! Finally, the
Word of God itself serves to alert believers to the danger of rejecting Truth.
Maximum negative volition, resulting in patterns of national degeneracy, can
only incur Divine discipline against our nation. (Lev
26:14-39; Hos 4:1-7; Rom 1:18-32; 2Ti
4:3-4)
But if we have fallen under Divine fire, then why do the anti-God,
antiestablishment communist powers continue to exist? In other words, “Why do
the wicked prosper?” (Job 21:7; Psa 2:1; Psa
37:1-40; Psa 73:1-12) As
part of the angelic conflict, a nation is often tested in a crisis situation.
Will believers stick with Truth, or will they get
their eyes on the enemy, panic and fall helter-skelter into human false reality
and reversionism? Just as field training exercises are essential for
realistic military training, so believers must also
face the test of maximum adversity.
A second reason why evil is allowed to continue is the Principle that
under Jesus Christ’s permissive control of history, aggressive and arrogant
nations are often used as whips to administer Divine discipline against
reversionistic nations which are totally under the influence of evil.
The Priest Nation
At any period in history, somewhere
in the world, God has a priest nation.
Now then, if
you will indeed obey My Voice and keep My Covenant, then you shall be My OWN
possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; And you shall be
to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the Words that you
shall Speak to the sons of Israel. (Exod 19:5-6)
A priest nation is God’s repository on
earth for the Word of Truth.
In such a nation, the Gospel is freely communicated,
Truth is freely taught and missionaries are sent out to carry the Word of God
to areas of positive volition throughout the world! The priest nation is always pro-Semitic.
When both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel had been
destroyed under the fifth cycle of discipline, God’s storehouse of Truth became
Chaldea and then the Persian Empire. With the return of the Jews from captivity
and afterward, under the heroic leadership of the Macabees, Israel again
functioned as a priest nation. Later, the Roman Empire, as the setting for the
first century church, became the nation in which Truth flourished. Where did
Truth move after Rome was sacked and finally destroyed? To the Frankish Kingdom
of Merovingians. Other nations, such as Brandenburg under the Hohenzollerns,
Sweden during the Thirty Years’ War, Switzerland at the time of Zwingli, France
in the days of the Huguenots, Ireland and later, Scotland, all served as priest
nations. More recently, in the last century, Victorian England provided the
freedom for the communication of Truth, and British missionaries carried the
Gospel throughout the world.
With the decline of the British Empire, the United States became the
custodian of Truth and has been directly and remarkably blessed by the Lord. Tragically, however, we as a nation have now become so
involved in self-righteousness and good works, so bound up in the evils of
human solutions to world problems, so jaded by reversionism, that we have
forgotten our heritage and the importance of personal Spiritual advance.
We have ignored our opportunity and responsibility to
glorify Jesus Christ through Truth resident in our souls, and as a priest
nation we are on our way out!
In the angelic conflict, Jesus Christ permits evil to run its course.
The communists will eventually be destroyed because the Reality of God’s Plan
unfailingly crushes any false system that evil can construct. God can afford to
let evil nations run loose for a while, but He cannot permit His own priest
nation to abuse its Spiritual heritage. As a parent who
jealously guards his own children, God always maintains a firmer control over
those nations that have a relationship with Him. The USSR has never been
a Doctrinal nation, but the United States was formed
on Principles that reflect Christ’s own Thinking. Furthermore, there has
always been a strong foundation of mature believers in this nation. If we
disregard our Spiritual legacy, we can expect to be summarily removed, not only
as a world power, but as a free people!
The basis for survival and prosperity for any priest nation is the
attitude of its believers toward Truth. (Hos 4:6)
No nation can ever survive the termination of objective
Thinking, and no priest nation can outlast its own rejection of Truth.
The tragic and rapid decline of the United States will not be reversed. If
believers in this nation return to our true national heritage — the Word of Truth; God is
absolutely just, and He always honors His Word resident in the souls of
believers. The struggle for the souls of believers, therefore, is taking
place now. It is the fight to avoid all distractions
and to take in Truth every day. If the daily
battle is consistently won, then when the overt crisis erupts, when the demons
launch one of their many plans for conquering the United States, the mature
believer will be prepared to win that major conflict! The knowledge of Truth not only orients believers to
the importance of the Laws of Divine establishment but heightens appreciation
of the value of military preparedness in the face of wily and powerful enemies.
When the scourge of socialism and or demonism finally overcomes
the United States and the whole earth, (Dan 7:23) you have a choice: you can react to what you do
not understand and become inundated in the maelstrom of rapidly changing
circumstances,
or you can respond to what you do understand from your knowledge of the Word of
God. Should the nation go
down, the Command post of Truth in your soul will guarantee your personal
preservation, even when the nation itself is destroyed. (Psa 37:18-28; Rev 3:10)
Now then, if you will indeed obey My Voice [Think with God's Thoughts]
and keep My Covenant, [Stay in fellowship] then you shall be My Own
possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine. (Exod 19:5)
End
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